





The only road to the Yosemite that has been oiled for 45 miles 


RAYMOND WAWONA 

BIO TREES INSPIRATION POINT 


THE 

Gateway to Yosemite 


The world-famed Mariposa Grove of Big Trees is on this 
route. They can be visited either going to or returning 
from the Yosemite. 

By leaving San Francisco at 11:25 p. m. and taking 

THE LIMITED 

From Raymond next morning you can reach the Valley 
that evening. Pullman sleepers daily from San Francisco 
and Los Angeles to Raymond. 

A Day at Wawona 

Upon your return trip you will find a day at Wawona one 
of the most pleasant of the trip. 

FOR FURTHER PARTICULARS ADDRESS THE 


YOSEMITE STAGE AND TURNPIKE CO. 

613 Market Street, San Francisco, Cal. 


E. P. Washburn, Supt, ,. A..S. Mann, Ticket Agent 




J. B. Landfield W. C. Crittenden Arthur M. Cooley Harold A. Taylor Eugene R. Hallett 


HALLETT-TAYLOR CO. z* 



Art Studies of the Yosemite 


» » 

Visitors to the Yosemite are invited to visit 
our studio and view the exhibit of Carbon and 
Platinum Studies from the negatives of Oliver 
Lippincott. 

We are also Publishers aud Purveyors of 
Souvenir Photographic Novelties, Developers and 
Finishers for the Amateur, Agents for the Supplies 
of Photography, and the Makers of Group Pictures 
at the foot of the trails. 

» .-. » 

Studio Located at the Sign of the Three Arrows 
YOSEMITE, CALIFORNIA 
















BOOKS and PICTURES 

OF 

Scenery , Resorts and Resources 

OF 

CALIFORNIA 


FOLDERS 

ILLUSTRATED 

Map of California 

Yosemite Valley 

Big Trees 

Giant Forest 

Kings River Canyon 

Shasta Resorts 

Lake Tahoe 

PICTURES 

Yosemite Book of Views, io cts. 

Big Tree Book, io cts. 

Big Tree Picture, 19x24, 50c 

BOOKLETS 

Orange Primer 

California for Settlers 

California Industries 

The Land of Opportunity 

LECTURE 

Yosemite and Big Trees, with 
slides. Correspondence 
solicited 

“Sunset” 

Monthly Magazine, finely 
illustrated, $1.00 a year 


Free of Agent , save vuhere price is noted. By mail. 
Stamps for postage. 


SOUTHERN PACIFIC 

San Francisco , Cal. 






CONTENTS 


PAGE 

Yosemite, the Masterpiece . . . . 2 

Discovery of Yosemite. 3 

The First Visitors.° 

Theories about Its Formation . 7 

Five Great Glaciers.® 

How To Do Yosemite.i° 

Outline Map of Yosemite, opp. . io 
Table of Distances . . Back of map 
Table of Altitudes . . Back of map 

Waterfalls of Yosemite.13 

The Bridal Veil.14 

Yosemite Falls.16 

View from the Railing.18 

Along Vernal-Nevada Falls Trail 20 
Happy Isles and Sierra Point . . 22 
Vernal Fall and Register Rock . 24 
The Granite Stairway . . . . 25 

Nevada Fall.28 

Little Yosemiteand Clouds’ Rest 29 

Glacial Evidence Here.31 

Cascade Fall.31 

Points, Peaks, and Domes . . . .33 

Inspiration Point.33 

Artists’, Stanford and Dewey 

Points.35 

El Capitan .35 

Cathedral Spires and Rocks . . 37 
Three Brothers, Eagle Peak and 

Sentinel.39 

Union Point and Agassiz Column 42 

Glacier Point ..44 

Sentinel Dome and Dewey Trail 46 

The Fissures.47 

Yosemite Point.47 


PAGE 

Royal Arches and North Dome . 49 

Half Dome.50 

Cap of Liberty and Clouds’ Rest 51 

Mirror Lake .52 

Roads and Trails.54 

The Yosemite Commissioners . . 55 
Yosemite Flora and Shrubbery . 55 

The Snow Plant.56 

Toll Roads and Tolls.57 

The Trail Mule Is Wise.58 

First Automobile '1 rip.59 

Little Yosemite.60 

Camping Grounds and Campers 60 
The Yosemite National Park . . 61 

General Valley Notes.64 

Places of Business.68 

Our First Impressions ..... 75 

Yosemite in Winter .76 

Outline Map of Routes to Yo¬ 
semite (Distances on back 

of map).opposite 76 

Routes to Yosemite.77 

Raymond to Yosemite.81 

Chinese to Yosemite ..83 

Hetch Hetchy Valley ... .85 

Merced-Santa Fe Route.88 

Scenic Wonders of Wawona . . 92 
Map of Wawotia and Vicinity . 93 
The Big Trees of the Sierras . . 97 
Why They Are So Named ... 98 

Mariposa Grove.102 

Amid the Sequoias at Twilight . 107 

The Calaveras Grove.109 

The Redwoods of the Coast . . in 


LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 


Ou Glacier Pt. Heights .... 

Frontispiece 


Washington Column.4 

At the Rancheria.9 

Off for the Trails.11 

Bridal Veil Fall.15 

Yosemite Falls.17 

Up to Zigzags .21 

In Midwinter.23 

Vernal Fall .25 

Nevada Fall, Front . 27 

Nevada Fall, Profile..30 

Approaching Inspiration Point . 34 
Yosemite from Artists’ Point . . 36 

El Capitan.38 

Cathedral Spires.40 

Three Brothers.41 

Sentinel and River.42 

Hotel at Glacier Point.44 


North Dome and Royal Arches . 48 

“ Plum Duff” . ..53 

Mary, a Yosemite Indian .... 57 

Piute and Papoose.63 

A "Native” Daughter.67 

Jorgensen Studio and River . . 69 
Cloud Effects on the Dome ... 73 

"Captain” Paul.74 

“I’m going to Yosemite, too.” . 77 
Indian Caches and Sentinel ... 79 
Dead Giant, Tuolumne Grove . 87 

In the Merced Grove.91 

Wawona and River.94 

Chilnualna Falls, Wawona ... 96 

Grizzly Giant.99 

Galen Clark.104 

Stage on Fallen Monarch . . . ic6 
Tree Wawona, the Tunnel Tree 108 
The Cabin, Mariposa Grove . . no 
























































NEW STOBE NEW GOODS jFAIB PBICES 

AT THE 

Yosemitc Valley Store 

YOSEMITE, CAL. 

Why bring your camping and other supplies when you 

can do so much better here ? 


Complete Camping Outfits to Rent 



Stock is complete, fresh, and especially suited for parties 
going to the High Sierras. Write for fuller particulars. 


Ji d dr ess 

N. S. SALTER, Yosemite, California 














Sentinel hotel 

AND 

Camp YoSemite 

YOSEMITE VALLEY, CALIFORNIA 

J. B. COOK, Proprietor 

Western Onion, Express, and Post-offices 

Stage Seats Reserved 


Camp Yosemitc is beautifully located on the 
east bank of Yosemite Creek, almost within the 
spray of the great Yosemite Falls. It is an ideal 
spot, near the famous old sawmill built by John 
Muir, and only ten minutes’ walk from the Hotel. 

BLAZING CAMP FIRES EVERY EVENING 

Large bath-house, dining hall, new tents with 
floors, clean cots, and bedding. All the comforts 
and change of camp-life at Camp Yosemite, with¬ 
out its many little annoyances. 

TEN DAYS’ TRIP from San Francisco, including six and 
one-fourth days at Camp Yosemite, $49.50 
... Special rates to parties remaining over time ... 

For fuller particulars about either the hotel or 
the camp, address 

J. B. COOK, Yosemite, Cal. 

OR, 

A. S. MANN, 613 Market Street 

SAN FRANCISCO , CAL. 

Season opens May 20, and closes (about) August 15 
of each season 











CAMP CUBBY, Yosemite 


A Summer Hotel in Tents 



C, LACIER POINT 


An almost perpendicular rock 
3,200 feet above Camp Curry 


The location of Camp Curry is an 
ideal one, under the dizzy heights of 
Glacier Point, an almost perpendic¬ 
ular rock 3,200 feet above. To the 
right, and near by, is the great Half 
Dome, nearly 5,000 feet above the 
camp. Then come the other won¬ 
ders, the Canyon of the Tenaya, the 
North Dome, Royal Arches, and 
Grizzly Peak; while to the west, a 
mile or more away, can be seen the 
great Yosemite Falls. 

A TEN DAYS’ TRIP 

It has long been the impression 
that it takes $100 to visit the Yo¬ 
semite. Camp Curry has demon¬ 
strated to 2,230 guests during the 
past four seasons that a ten days’ 
trip can be made for $50 or less. 

Camp Curry 

Is personally managed by its 
owners 

Who have had twelve years’ ex¬ 
perience in camp life in the Yellow¬ 
stone Park and the Yosemite. 

Camping for yourself in luxury is 
too expensive. 

Camping for yourself without the 
accommodations is to laborious. 

CAMP CURRY FURNISHES 
UUXURIOUS CAMPING 
AT A DOW RATE 

Rates at Camp Curry: 

$2.00 Per Day $12 Per Week 


Circulars at all Santa Fe and 
Southern Pacific Offices, at Peck’s 
Information Bureau Offices, in the 
cabinets in hotels, and from 


DAVID VI. CURRY 

PALO ALTO, CAL. 

641 Market Street, San Francisco, Cal., and Yosemite, Cal. 









Ho! for the Trails 


OF THE YOSEMITE 

To visit this Valley of Wonders without making 
at least one of its trail trips is like visiting 
Rome and not seeing St. Peters 

Wc arc ready to serve you with a carriage or saddle-train 
service that has few equals 


OUB TBAIL ANIMALS ABE KIND 
AND GENTLE 

OUB GUIDES ABE COUBTEOUS 
AND ATTENTIVE 


Commencing about the first of July we will make a 
specialty of personally-conducted camping parties to the 
High Sierras. 

For parties of four or more we will furnish saddle and 
pack-horses and guide for $Ji.oo per day each, the parties 
furnishing their own blankets and provisions. 

These trips will include any part of the mountains the 
parties desire to visit. 

Geo. W. Kenney will be at the Sentinel Hotel every 
afternoon and evening. 


COFFMAN S KENNEY 

Yosemite, California 










Photo by C. M. Belshazu, Antioch , Cal. 

OVERHANGING ROCK, GLACIER POINT, 3,250 FEET ABOVE 

VALLEY FLOOR. 



jtf & “/ toVe not man the less, but Nature more.” JS 


b 


YOSEMITE 


Souvenir and Guide 

We take exceptional pleasure in presenting this third 
edition of . our “Yosemite Souvenir and Guide.” It is a 
keen pleasure to have one’s work so well appreciated that 
a new edition is required for each Yosemite season. The 
pilgrim who comes this way (there were nearly 7,000 of 
them last year) will, we hope, continue to fully appreciate 
the fact that within these pages we have endeavored to 
present one of the best and most complete books ever 
published upon this subject. 

In preparing this "Yosemite Souvenir and Guide” we 
have tried to put ourselves in your place, to partly under¬ 
stand your wants, and to try to supply them, so far as they 
can be in a work of this sort. After a residence of several 
years amid such stupendous wonders as are to be found 
here, one is very liable to forget just what the new arrival, 
whose visit must necessarily be a short one, wants to 
know. This we have tried to give in the following pages. 
We have been brief where brevity was desirable; we have 
used rose-tinted pen sketches where we felt they would 
add to the visitor’s appreciation. We have studied the 
many scenic points of interest in and about the Yosemite, 
how to get to them, and what to see when you get there. 
The latter expression must necessarily be a general one, 
for no two visitors will see the many little and interesting 
things that are to be seen upon the various trips in and 
about the Valley in the same way; no two impressions 
will be exactly alike. 

Should you desire information not found in these pages, 
call at our studio office, “The Tourist,” near the guardian’s 
office and we will take pleasure in being of service to you. 

D. J. Foley. 

“Tourist” Studio, Yosemite, Cal, April /. 1903. 



2 


VOSEMTTE VALLEV. 


YOSEMITE, ThE MASTERPIECE 

By W. A. Croffut. 

O words, how poor, and vain, and weak, 
When of the masterpiece we speak, 

Of emerald vale and starry peak,— 

Thy glories, grand Yosemite! 

What know we of the times remote, 

When on Azoic seas afloat 

Great Nature sailed her granite boat, 

And dreamt about Yosemite; 

When demon thrones were upward hurled, 
And fiery flags were high unfurled 
From bastions of a ruined world, 

Beneath thy gulf, Yosemite; 

When Vulcan, tired of labors tame, 

Lighted his furious forge of flame, 

And smote young Terra’s molten frame, 
And fashioned wild Yosemite? 

We only know this Titan’s home 
Of ribboned fall and purple dome 
Is crystal of the primal foam 

That bathed thy beach. Yosemite. 

Fair jewel,—gold, and red, and brown, 

In splendor shining softly down, 

The Kohinoor of Nature’s crown,— 
Magnificent Yosemite! 

Washington, D. C. 


SOUVENIR AND GUIDE. 


3 


DISCOVERY OF YOSEMITE 


In entering this wonderland, one of the first questions 
that naturally arises in the mind of the visitor is, “Who 
first saw the Yosemite Valley?” From Dr. Bunnell’s “Dis¬ 
covery of the Yosemite,” we quote the answer: “During 
the winter of 1849-50, while ascending the old Bear Val¬ 
ley trail from Ridley’s Ferry, on the Merced River, my 
attention was attracted to the stupendous rocky peaks of 
the Sierra Nevadas. In the distance an immense cliff 
(El Capitan) loomed, apparently to the summit of the 
mountains. Although familiar with nature in her wildest 
moods, I looked upon this awe-inspiring column with 
wonder and admiration. While vainly endeavoring to 
realize its peculiar prominence and vast proportions, I 
turned from it with reluctance to resume the search for 
coveted gold ; but the impressions of that scene were in¬ 
delibly fixed in my memory. I made many inquiries con¬ 
cerning the scenery of that locality. But few of the miners 
had noticed any of its special peculiarities. A year or 
more passed before the mysteries of this wonderful land 
were satisfactorily solved. 

“During the winter of 1850-51, I was attached to an 
expedition that made the first discovery of what is now 
known to the civilized world as Yosemite Valley, that is 
‘not only wonderful in depths and heights, but in its carved 
and water-quarried recesses and mountain walls that ex- 
hibit new beauties in every receding angle and cloud¬ 
supporting buttress.’ ” 

In the early part of 1851, the Mariposa Battalion was 
engaged to penetrate the mountains to fight the Indians, 
who had become very troublesome. The chief of the 
Yosemites was Ten-ie-ya, a bright old Indian, a worthy 
leader of his people, in the closing scenes of their owner¬ 
ship and control of Yosemite. Dr. Bunnell was a mem¬ 
ber of this party. Their route lay through Wawona, near 
where they camped one night. They had a friendly Indian 
for a guide, and from him they got the first information 
of the “deep, rocky valley on the Merced,” where one 
Indian was equal to many whites. On or about the 21st 
of March, 1851, the members of the battalion first beheld 
the glories and wonders of the Yosemite, over which “the 
mist-clouds rolled in feathery blue-gray banks along every 
gorge and through the giant mountain pines, hanging over 


4 


YOSEMITE VALLEY. 


cliffs and peaks,” the frosty breath of the storm-king of 
the High Sierras, nature’s heaven-hung embroidery. 

“Suddenly we came in full view of the Valley,” continued 
Dr. Bunnell. “The immensity of rock that I had seen in 
my vision on the old Bear Valley trail, forty miles away, 
was here presented to my astonished gaze. The locality 
of the mysterious cliff was there revealed, its proportions 
enlarged and perfected.” 



WASHINGTON COLUMN, (ABOUT) 2,000 FEET HIGH. 

Their first view of the Valley was from Mt. Beatitude, 
above New Inspiration Point. 

“It has been said that ‘it is not easy to describe in words 
the precise impressions which great objects make upon us.’ 
I can not describe how completely I realized this truth. 
None but those who have visited this most wonderful Val¬ 
ley can ever imagine the feeling with which I looked upon 






SOUVENIR AND GUIDE. 


5 


the view that there was presented. The grandeur of the 
scene was but softened by the haze that hung over the 
Valley—light as gossamer—and by the clouds which partly 
dimmed the higher cliffs and mountains. This obscurity 
of vision but increased the awe with which I beheld it, and 
as I looked, a peculiarly exalted sensation seemed to fill 
my whole being, and I found my eyes in tears with emo¬ 
tion.” 

“To obtain a more distinct and quiet view, I had left the 
trail and my horse, and wallowed through the snow alone 
to a projecting granite rock. So interested was I in the 
scene before me, that I did not observe that my comrades 
had all moved on. and that I would soon be left indeed 
alone. My situation attracted the attention of Major 
Savage—who was riding in the rear of the column—who 
hailed me from the trail below with: ‘You had better wake 
up from that dream up there, or you may lose your hair; 
I have no faith in Ten-ie-ya’s statement that there are no 
Indians about here. We had better be moving; some of 
the murdering devils may be lurking along this trail to 
pick up stragglers.’ I hurriedly joined the major on the 
descent, and as other views presented themselves, I said 
with some enthusiasm, ‘If my hair is now required, I can 
depart in peace, for I have here seen the power and glory 
of a Supreme Being; the majesty of His handiwork is 
in that testimony of rocks.’ ” 

Then to the Mariposa Battalion, commanded by Major 
Savage, must be given the honor of first entering the 
Yosemite Valley. Prospectors may have visited it as early 
as ’49, but if they did, they never made known the dis¬ 
covery. 

It has been claimed by others, and so published “In the 
Heart of the Sierras,” by the late J. M. Hutchings, that the 
discovery of the Valley was made on May 5 or 6, 1851. 
Dr. Bunnell contradicts this, and says that it was made on 
or about the 21st of March of the same year. The im¬ 
partial reader must take the evidence of the man who was 
on the ground and took part in the great event, as against 
others who were not. 

The Walker Discovery 

It is admitted by Dr. Bunnell and others that the Mari¬ 
posa Battalion were not the first white men to look down 
upon or over the Valley from above. Captain Walker and 
party, after whom Walker’s Lake and Pass were named, 


6 


YOSEMITE VALLEY. 


crossed the Sierras on the old Mono trail, before the bat¬ 
talion put in appearance. Says Dr. Bunnell: “The topog¬ 
raphy of the country over which the Mono trail ran, and 
which was followed by Captain Walker, did not admit 
of his seeing the Valley proper. The depression indicating 
the Valley, and its magnificent surroundings, could alone 
have been discovered, and Captain Walker was manly 
enough to admit the same to me. I cheerfully concede 
the fact that his were the first white man’s eyes that ever 
looked upon the Yosemite above the Valley, and in that 
sense, he was certainly the original white discoverer.” 

The First Visitors 

In the latter part of June, 1855, the first tourist party 
visited here, organized by Mr. Hutchings. He was accom¬ 
panied by Thomas Ayres, an artist, and Walter Millard, 
and they were joined by Alexander Stair, at Mariposa. 
Mr. Hutchings had heard of “a waterfall nearly a thou¬ 
sand feet high,” and so determined to see for himself. 
He found all he expected and more than his wildest visions 
had ever painted. Upon his return to Mariposa, he, at 
the request of the editor of the “Gazette,” wrote the first 
authentic description of the Valley. It came like a mes¬ 
sage from a new world,—so startling, so vivid, so realistic. 
The article was copied into the newspapers and magazines 
of the day, and by Mr. Hutchings’ pioneer efforts the 
world first heard of the Valley of the Grizzly Bear. 


He is Fatally Injured 


Mr. Hutchings always expressed a wish to pass away 
amid the sublime wonders he had done so much to bring 
before the world. It was one of the apparent mysteries 
of fate that his wish should come to nass, suddenly, un¬ 
expectedly, tragically. On the beautiful, sunny afternoon 
of Oct. 31, 1902, he was fatally injured, by being hurled 
from a wagon, while coming down the Oak Flat grade. 
The accident occurred at a point where the road was level, 
and within about 300 yards of its foot. Mrs. Hutchings 
was slightly injured. “I am very much hurt,” were his 
only words, and then his soul passed over the last summit. 
His remains now rest in the Yosemite cemetery. 


Carbon and cheaper pictures, developing and printing at city rates 
at the “Tourist” Studio. 



SOUVENIR AND GUIDE. 


THEORIES ABOUT ITS FORMATION 


This is about the first question the inquiring- visitor will 
ask, and as it is an important and ever-interesting one, we 
briefly give the opinions of men who are well known. 

“While we would all like to know what caused it,” writes 
the late McD. Johnstone, “we have not gotten, nor are 
we likely to get, beyond conjecture. Whether it was 
washed out by the streams, or ground out by the ice mills 
of the glacial period, or whether its bottom fell out, and 
where it fell to. and what caused the hole the bottom fell 
into, are all points that have been carefully discussed, but 
never settled.” 


Professor Whitney’s Theory 

T he late Prof. J. D. Whitney, about thirty years ago, 
said : “We conceive that, during the process of upheaval 
of the Sierra, or possibly at some time after that had 
taken place, there was at the Yosemite a subsidence of a 
limited area, marked by lines of ‘fault’ or fissure crossing 
each other at somewhat right angles. In other and more 
simple language, the bottom of the Valley sank down to 
unknown depth, owing to its support being withdrawn from 
underneath, during one of those convulsive movements 
which must have attended the upheaval of so extensive 
and elevated a chain. By the adoption of this theory for 
its formation, we are able to get over one difficulty which 
appears insurmountable to any other, and that is the small 
amount of debris at the base of the cliffs, and even, at a 
few points, its entire absence.” 

In support of his theory, Professor Whitney says: “It is 
sufficient to look for a moment at the vertical faces of 
El Capitan and the Bridal Veil Rock turned down the 
Valley, or away from the direction in which the eroding 
forces must have acted, to be able to say that aqueous 
erosion could not have been the agent employed to do any 
such work. Much less can it be supposed that the peculiar 
form of the Yosemite is due to the erosive action of ice. 
Besides, there is no reason to suppose, or at least no 
proof, that glaciers have ever occupied the Valley or any 
portion of it.” In this statement Professor Whitney can 
not be borne out by the evidence of glaciers now to be 
seen in various parts of the Yosemite. His observations 


2 


8 


YOSEMITE VALLEY. 


were made many years ago, before much was known upon 
the subject locally. John Muir, the late Prof. Joseph 
Le Conte, and very many others, declare positively that 
glaciers were in the Yosemite, and that the most convinc¬ 
ing evidences of the same can be found now in various 
parts of the same. Upon many places of the perpendicular 
walls can be seen, with a glass, the glacial polish. Just 
beyond the top of the Nevada Fall you will find many 
patches of the same, with well-defined scoring, still in 
an almost perfect condition. Ask the guides to show you 
these still living evidences of what the ice-power did here 
thirty or more thousand years ago. 

The Polish of the Glacier 

A few feet above the iron railing at the top of Vernal 
Fall you can find a round piece of hard rock imbedded in 
the solid granite. On the face of this stump-like forma¬ 
tion can be seen the polish of the glacier. The surround¬ 
ing granite being softer, it has been worn down nearly six 
inches below the polished and flinty rock. 

Five Great Glaciers 

That prince of descriptive writers, John Muir, of Mar¬ 
tinez, this state, believes that at one time in the past five 
great glaciers plowed their way into the gorge of the 
Yosemite. These were the Merced River, the Illiouette, 
the Tenaya Creek (in which is Mirror Lake), the Yosemite 
Creek, and the Bridal Veil Creek. These, however, were 
there in their individual life during the latter years of the 
glacial period. Prior to that the Yosemite “was completely 
overwhelmed with glaciers, and they did not come down 
the main valley by the narrow, angular, tortuous canyons 
of the Tenaya, Nevada, or South Canyons, but they flowed 
grandly and directly above all of its highest domes.” Mr. 
Muir thinks that the vast body of ice was at least a mile 
above the top of the Half Dome. It is claimed that upon 
the summit of the latter can yet be found evidences of the 
glaciers. “Glaciers,” continues Mr. Muir, “have made 
every mountain form of this whole region ; even the sum¬ 
mit mountains are only fragments of their pre-glacial 
selves.” 


The Late Professor Le Conte’s Views 

The late Professor Le Conte, of the University of Cali¬ 
fornia, whose works on geology are a standard the world 


SOUVENIR AND GUIDE. » 

over, and who passed away here during June, 1901, had 
spent very many seasons here. He said that during the 
glacial period a great glacier covered the Valley to a height 
of over a mile. The constant grinding action of this 
immense weight and force, continuing for thousands of 
years, and the action of water and the elements since 
the glacial period, have been the causes that have brought 
about this wonderful place. “Give us time enough,” said 
Mr. Le Conte, “and we can bring about the conditions 
now existing in Yosemite. To the geologist, a thousand 
years is but a small part of a second of time.” 

All of these evidences clearly show us that the late Pro¬ 
fessor Whitney was mistaken when he said that there 
were no evidences of glacial action in the Yosemite. 



Taber, Photo., S. F. 

AT THE RANCHERIA, NEAR, YOSEMITE FALLS. 




10 


YOSEMITE VALLEY. 


MOW TO DO YOSEMITE 

Suggestions as to Trips 

A visit to Yosemite that does not include a trip to the 
top of Yosemite Falls and Eagle Peak, on the northern 
wall, and Glacier Point, including the Vernal and the 
Nevada Falls, is like visiting Rome and not seeing St. 
Peter’s. Where a visitor is limited to one or two days, 
such circumstances may deter him from making the Yo¬ 
semite Falls trip; for if he can not do that and the Glacier 
Point trip, too, why, take the latter. Both are wonderful, 
but if it becomes a choice of two rival points of interest, 
why, we will have to select that which will give you the 
very best results, and that is Glacier Point. The two 
views are entirely distinct, but if we have to omit one, let 
it be the Eagle Peak trip. 

The ordinary tourist spends at least four days here, and 
on that basis these suggestions are made. They also apply 
to camping parties, with this exception, that the average 
camping party remains about ten days, and so they can 
rest at least one day between trips. 

The Raymond stages arrive here at noon, and during 
the afternoon the tourists who have just arrived would 
do well to take the “round trip” on the floor of the Valley. 
This means a drive to the foot of the Yosemite Falls, then 
down the Valley on the north side, passing close to the 
wall of El Capitan, and then down to the beautiful Cas¬ 
cades, on the Merced-Santa Fe route. Upon the return 
trip, the Pohono bridge, about a mile below the Bridal 
Veil Fall, is crossed, and the Fall is again visited at a time 
(about 4:30) when the beautiful and most wonderful and 
gorgeous rainbows are at their best. This trip is always 
an enjoyable one. Your first view from Inspiration Point 
was a general one, but this gives you more time and a 
chance to study individual points of great interest. Camp¬ 
ing parties frequently make a full day’s trip of this, going 
down in the morning and returning via Bridal Veil in the 
evening. Trout fishing is good at the Cascades—if you 
know how to catch them. 

Yosemite Falls and Eagle Peak should be taken the 
second day. 

The third day should include Mirror Lake, for which 
you leave the hotel between seven and eight, then on to the 
matchless wonders, the Vernal and the Nevada Falls. 




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jURRO0 NDED By r-«e yosE/MiTE National park controlled 
O y CON6 RESS. THE WALL* OP THE VAllEV RON NEARLY 

east aNo west The valley is from one half to two 

MilE^ WIDE. ANO ABOUT SEVEN lONG THE YO$£MlTE 
5 RAN t 15 (2 MILES .N LENGTH with aN AVERAGE NiOTH 
OP ABOUT » milES 




sat? 

















MAP OF YOSEMITE VALLEY 


Distances from the “Tourist” Studio-Office to Points of Interest in 
and About the Yosemite 

Carriage Drives 

Mirror Lake...3 miles 

Mirror Lake (round trip).7 miles 

Foot of Lower Yosemite Fall.% mile 

El Capitan Bridge.3 miles 

Bridal Veil Fall ..4 miles 

Pohono Bridge.5 miles 

Cascades ..8 miles 

Happy Isles.2 )4 miles 

Trail Trips 

• 

Foot of Upper Yosemite Fall.2 % miles 

Top of Upper Yosemite Fall.4^ miles 

Yosemite Point.5 miles 

Eagle Peak.7 miles 

Top of Vernal Fall.5 miles 

Top of Nevada Fall.6 miles 

Little Yosemite.,8 miles 

Clouds’ Rest.11 miles 

Glacier Point. 4)4 miles 

Sentinel Dome. 5)4 miles 

Round Trip (Vernal and Nevada Falls, Glacier Point, and 

Sentinel Dome).19 miles 

Glacier Point, via Vernal and Nevada Falls . . ..14)4 miles 

The distance from Glacier Point to Inspiration Point via the 

Dewey Trail is.12 miles 

The distance from the hotel to the foot of the Vernal and 

Nevada Fall trail is.2% miles 

The distance from the hotel to the foot of the Glacier Point 

trail is.1 mile 

The distance from the hotel to the foot of the Eagle Peak trail. i )4 miles 

























Table of Altitudes 


WATERFALLS 


INDIAN NAME AND MEANING. 

AMERICAN 

NAME. 

Po-ho-no, “Spirit of the Evil Wind” . . . 

. Bridal Veil . . . . 

940 feet 

Perpendicular descent of same. . 

600 feet 

Loya, “The Sentinel”. 

. The Sentinel . . . 

3,270 feet 

Illiloutte, “Rushing Water”. 

. South Fork . . , 

500 feet 

Pi-wa-ack, “Cataract of Diamonds” . . . 

. Vernal. 

350 feet 

Yo-wi-ye, “Meandering”. 

. Nevada. 

605 feet 

To-coy-ae, “Shade to Indian Basket” . . . 

. Royal Arch . . . 

2,000 feet 

Yosemite, “Large Grizzly Bear”. 

. Yosemite, 



Upper Fall .... 

1,600 feet 


Middle Fall . . . 

600 feet 


Lower Fall . . . 

400 feet 


Total. 

2,600 feet 

Lung-oo-too-koQ-ya, “Pigeon Fall” . . . 

Ribbon (also Vir- 



gin’s Tears) . . 

3,300 feet 


P02NTS, PEAKS, AND DOMES 

Wali-wah-le-na.Three Graces . . 3,400 feet 

Cathedral Rock . 2,660 feet 

Po-see-nah Chuk-ka, “Large Acorn Cache.” Cathedral Spires. 

(One is 2,579 feet, the other 2,678 feet above the Valley.) 

(Height of Spires above rock is 700 feet.) 

Loya, “The Sentinel”.Sentinel Rock. . 3,100 feet 

Sentinel Dome . . 4,125 feet 
Glacier Point . . 3,250 feet 
Mt. Starr King . . 5,100 feet 

Mah-ta, “Martyr Mountain”.Cap of Liberty . . 2,000feet 

Tis-sa-ack, “Goddess of the Valley” . . . .Half Dome. . . . 5,000 feet 
(The front or vertical part of the Dome is 2,000 feet.) 

To-coy-ae, “Shade to Indian Basket” . . . . North Dome . . . 3,725 feet 

Pom-pom-pa-sus, “Falling Rocks”.Three Brothers . 3,830 feet 

Eagle Peak . . . 3,900 feet 
Tu-tock-a-nu-la, “ Great Chief of the Valley.” El Capitan . . . . 3,300 feet 

Inspiration Point . 1,200 feet 

II unto, “The Watching Eye”.Round Tower. . 2,400 feet 

Clouds’ Rest . . . 6,000 feet 
Yosemite Point . 3,220 feet 

Notes.—The foot of the Nevada Fall is 1,366 feet above the Valley floor. 
Union Point is 2,350 feet above Merced River. The foot of the Upper 
Yosemite Falls is 1,114 feet above the Valley. All of the above figures are 
compiled from the reports of the late Professor Whitney and Lieutenant 
Wheeler. 
















Photo by D / Foley. "Tourist" Studio . Yosemite . 

OFF FOR THE TRAILS AT EARLY MORN. 


% 













YoSemIte valley. 


12 


On the fourth day you are well prepared for the climax 
of all Yosemite views,—Glacier Point and its galaxy of 
wonders. This trip also includes Sentinel Dome, above 
Glacier Point. 

For tourists arriving in the evening via either Oak Flat 
or Merced-Santa Fe routes, the following suggestions are 
made:— 

First day: Yosemite Falls and Eagle Peak. 

Second day: Mirror Lake in the morning, and Cascades 
or Inspiration Point in the afternoon. 

Third day: The Vernal and the Nevada Falls, and then 
on to Glacier Point, and back to the Valley. If you have 
the extra day, it would be well to divide the last trip into 
two days. 

Those desiring to visit Clouds’ Rest can visit the Vernal 
and the Nevada Falls on the same trip. If you have the 
time, it may well pay you to make the Clouds’ Rest a trip 
of itself. 

Other Trips, Too 

Besides these suggested trips, there is the Dewey Trail 
and the Sierra Point trips. The latter, however, can 
hardly be called a regular trip, from the fact that there is 
no trail to its summit. It is well worth the time for those 
who are making an extensive visit here. 

All these various trips are fully described elsewhere in 
this book, and we would advise you to carry this with you, 
and to frequently refer to same while making the different 
trips. 

These suggestions will give you the very best results for 
the time you have to spend here. If your time here is 
ten days or more, you can arrange your trips to suit your 
own pleasure and comfort. These suggestions are for the 
visitor who is not so fortunate. 

The round-trip distances to these various points from 
the Sentinel Hotel are: Top of Yosemite Falls, 8V2 miles; 
Eagle Peak, 14 miles; top of Nevada Fall, 12 miles; 
Clouds’ Rest, 22 miles; Glacier Point, 9 miles; Sentinel 
Dome (which includes Glacier Point), 11 miles; Dewey 
Trail (via Glacier Point), 25 miles; round trip, via Vernal 
and Nevada Falls, Glacier Point, and then back to the 
Valley floor via short trail, which reaches the Valley floor 
at the Chapel, 16 miles; but if you include the Sentinel 
Dome, too, add 3 more miles to this trip. For more dis¬ 
tance data, get one of our distance cards at this office and 
studio. 

If in doubt concerning these various trips, consult Mr. 
Geo. W. Kenney, the manager of the Saddle Train Co., 


SOUVENIR and guide. 


13 


who is usually at the hotel every afternoon and evening. 
Camping parties, if in doubt, too, will be given full in¬ 
formation by calling on either Mr. Kenney, Guardian 
Stevens, or at the “Tourist” office and studio. 

Trips to the High Sierras 

Commencing about the ist of July Messrs. Coffman & 
Kenney will make a specialty of personally conducting 
parties to points in the High Sierras, such as Lake Tenaya, 
Soda Springs, summits of Mts. Conness, Dana, and others 
in that section, as well as to the Mt. Lyell Glacier, the 
latter being the source of the Merced River. They will 
also take parties to the other Yosemite, the Hetch Hetchy 
Valley. For parties of four or more they will furnish 
saddle, pack-horses, and guide for $1 per day each, the 
parties furnishing their own blankets and provisions. No 
doubt but they can also arrange for the latter. These 
High Sierran trips should become popular and quite a 
feature of the Yosemite visit. From five to seven days 
should be taken for a complete trip. This does not in¬ 
clude the Hetch Hetchy, which can be done in about four 
days. 


WATERFALLS OF YOSEMITE 

The falls of the Yosemite! Who can describe them— 
from the downpouring flood of foaming, roaring water, 
as it flows over the lofty cliffs and hanging in midair an 
icy cataract, to the late summer thread of silver spray 
gently creeping down the water-stained cliffs in ribbons 
of gleaming light, or shooting into space like silver 
meteors? The man is yet unborn that can convey to you 
any idea of their grandeur and wonder. This is a case 
where the thing must be seen. 

“Much has been written about,” says John P. Irish, 
former secretary of the Board of Yosemite Commissioners, 
“without accounting for the individuality of the four great 
waterfalls of the Valley—Bridal Veil, Yosemite, Vernal, 
and Nevada. In each the snow-wlute water takes on a 
different form as it falls. The Bridal Veil is lace-like; 
the Yosemite has the appearance of rockets, plunging 
downward; Vernal Fall is a broad white sheet of tapestry, 
and Nevada a great pouring of snow.” 




14 


YOSEMITE VALLEY. 


There are many little waterfalls, fed by the melting 
snow of the higher mountains, that usually go dry as the 
season advances. In some years the Yosemite Falls almost 
disappear, late in the year. But the Bridal Veil, the Ver¬ 
nal, and the Nevada, are always interesting, and they alone 
will well repay one for his trip. 

The principal Falls, in the order in which they are gen¬ 
erally seen, are: Bridal Veil, Ribbon, Sentinel, Yosemite, 
Royal Arch, Llilouette, Vernal, Nevada, and Cascade. 

The Bridal Veil 

This is the first Fall the visitor sees as he enters the 
Valley. It is at the southern end, and shoots over its side. 
It has a width of about 30 feet at the top, and falls a dis¬ 
tance of 600 feet. The breeze that generally blows here 
adds much to its beauty. It catches the stream below its 
brink and sways it to and fro, forming long, sweeping, 
graceful motions, of which the eye never wearies nor the 
mind tires. You must visit this Fall in the afternoon, be¬ 
tween 4 and 5 o’clock, and view the grandest rainbow scene 
on earth. Visitors who visit the Pohono Bridge or Cascades 
go down on the north side of the Valley and return on the 
south side in time for the afternoon rainbows. Do not 
miss them. 

“But it was the Bridal Veil Fall that threw a spell 
''round me that almost made me forget to go on,” writes 
P. L. Stanton, a visitor of ’93. “It was about 4 P. M., and 
1 rainbow as pretty as heaven could make it, with a tremor 
which made it seem to be broken into a thousand pieces 
that played hide-and-seek with each other amid the trees 
and flowers, hung gracefully in the midst of the soft, 
snow-like spray. As I gazed and laughed in delight, I 
could but exclaim, ‘Surely, surely this is the prettiest 
thing God has given to this earth.’ ” 

Pohono, or the Bridal Veil Fall, was known to the 
Indians as the “Spirit of the Evil Wind.” “The dark and 
almost sunless cavern into which these waters fall, the 
misty breeze that plays eternally about the foot of the 
Falls and twists this great veil into a thousand fantastic 
forms, the hollow roar and dash of the waters, have ren¬ 
dered this region an uncanny place with the Indians. They 
have peopled its weird fern crannies and swirling spray 
chambers with creatures that play sad havoc in the tum¬ 
bling moonlight mist, or chase the rainbow’s fleeting form 
about the caldron’s edge. The natives give this region a 
wide berth, lest they should be brought under the blight- 


Photo by D. J. Foley. 


“ Tourist ” Studio, Yosemile. 


BEAUTIFUL BRIDAL VEIL PALI 


600 FEET. 



16 


YOSEMITE VALLEY. 


ing spell of Pohono.” So wrote the late E. McD. John¬ 
stone. 

As two heights of the Bridal Veil Fall are given in this 
work, we take pleasure in quoting the late Prof. J. D. 
Whitney upon this point. Says he: “The water is finally 
precipitated over the cliffs in one leap of 600 feet per¬ 
pendicular. The water then strikes upon a sloping pile 
of debris, down which it rushes in a series of cascades for 
a perpendicular distance of 300 feet more. The effect is 
that of being really 900 feet in vertical height.” 

The Ribbon Fall 

Is on the northern side of the Valley, but a little higher up 
than the Bridal Veil. A good view of it can be had from 
the stage road, as one comes into the Valley. It has an 
almost vertical descent of about 2,000 feet, and then makes 
a further bounding descent of more than a thousand feet. 
In the early part of the season the Ribbon is at its best; 
as the season advances, however, the flow becomes low, 
and finally almost entirely disappears. 

The Sentinel Fall 

This is one of the many Falls fed by the melting snows, 
and it generally disappears in the month of July. It is 
close to the Sentinel, from which it takes its name. 

The Yosemite Falls 

These world-famed waterfalls leap over the northern 
wall of Yosemite, about one-third of a mile back from the 
Valley floor. There are three distinct divisions,—the Up¬ 
per, the Middle, and the Lower. The Upper has a descent 
of 1,600 feet. It is about 35 feet wide at its upper edge. 
The middle Fall is a series of cascades, with a total de¬ 
scent of 600 feet. The 'lower Fall is a straight plunge of 
about 400 feet. This Fall gets very low late in the season, 
at which time it is possible to go behind the Upper Fall, 
where one can sit with safety and see the water shoot 
past. In the early part of the season the mighty roaring 
of the Yosemite can be heard all over the Valley, and 
windows in buildings a mile away are shaken by it. 

To go to the top of Yosemite Falls, Yosemite Point, and 
Eagle Peak, you follow the road down the Valley for 
about a half mile below the Yosemite Creek bridge, near 
the foot of the Fall, and you will find a sign-board which 
reads: “To Eagle Peak and Yosemite Falls.” The sign 



Fholo by D J. Foley. 


“ Tourist ” Studio, Yosemite. 


YOSEMITE FALLS, 2,600 FEET 




18 


YOSEMITE valley. 


should read, “To top of Yosemite Falls and Eagle Peak.” 
for this is what is before you. To those who do not know, 
they might think that Eagle Peak came first, which is not 
the case. When you reach the top of the canyon, which is 
three miles from the foot of the trail,—three long ones, 
too—you will come to where the trail forks. The one to 
the left takes you on to Eagle Peak, which is about three 
miles further on, but quite level, while the trail to the 
right will take you to the top of the Fall, and also over 
to the top of Yosemite Point. The latter is about 500 
feet higher than the top of the Fall. 

In going up, you will find yourself practically ascending 
a grand stairway. It leads you into that awful, narrow 
gorge, but the trail is a good one. We now quote from 
C. W. Kyle, whose word-painting of these Falls is the 
best we have ever seen:— 

“As you approach the foot of the Upper Fall, the clouds 
of mist lie over, and, in falling, bedew your way. One 
moment the Falls are in full view, the next you pass be¬ 
hind some great boulder, a grove of manzanita, water oaks, 
or pines, and the glistening column is, for the moment, 
lost to view; but the ear is ever noting the constant though 
ever-changing music, which rolls and echoes, rising and 
falling, thundering and sobbing through the rocky shrub- 
clad aisles and cozy amphitheaters of the gorge. You 
reach the small table or ledge which forms the base of 
the Upper Falls. The roar and thunder of the river as it 
strikes for the first time, in its fall of 1,600 feet, is deafen¬ 
ing. Looking up, your eye follows the white mist-wrapped 
Falls to the point where they seemingly leap out of the 
blue sky. The sensations awakened are strange and be¬ 
wildering. Your environments are new, and the reflection, 
caught by your innermost nature, introduces yourself to 
a seeming stranger, so peculiar are the ruling emotions. 
About you, circling within a span of your knees and at 
regular spacings, appear, as your focus of vision changes, 
in regular order, a multitude of rainbows of the most 
gorgeous hues, the smallest arching brilliant, but some two 
or three feet from point to point, while the largest, viewed 
from some distance above, from a point on the trail which 
ascends in spiral steeps to the left of the Falls, is some 
500 yards in span. 

View from the Iron Railing 

“You travel up to the crest of the great mountain wall, 
and approach along the bed of the foaming river, to the 
point of its tremendous plunge to its creation of supernal 


SOUVENIR AND GUIDE. 


19 


beauty below. You summon all of courage at your com¬ 
mand, and, with cautious movements, crawl along the 
granite boulders to the iron railing until you can look over 
into the awful chasm, 2,600 feet below. Beside you this 
mill-race of the gods is rushing in all the rage of its tre¬ 
mendous power, here and there; striking upon some boul¬ 
der, which projecting is held firmly in the vice-like grip of 
the mountain’s power, the waters are broken into diamond 
columns or bejeweled fountains of surpassing brilliancy 
and beauty. Look again: Down, down, down, the glitter¬ 
ing river with perian whiteness pours, and from your 
dizzying height the distance seems interminable. Sublime 
and majestic in its awful grandeur it appears. Shudder- 
ingly you draw back from the scene which seems to take 
hold of you with the terrible fascination of its power. The 
view was worth the risk. The impression is indelible.” 

If you are fortunate enough to be in Yosemite while the 
moon is shining, do not neglect seeing the Yosemite Falls 
by moonlight. It is a pleasant evening stroll from the 
hotel or camping grounds. 

The Yosemite Falls by moonlight is a scene no artist 
dare attempt to paint, no pen to describe. “As the nieht 
queen rides out, and a faint bar of light spans the chasm 
of the domes, upheld by shadows almost a mile high, 
she touches gently the great Falls of the Upper Yosemite, 
transforming the falling crystals into meteors of burnished 
silver, which the night wind whirls in wild fantastic 
wreaths against the frowning cliffs.” 

There are four lookouts on the trail, with iron railings, 
to the top of the Falls and Yosemite Point. They are at 
Columbia Rock, Valley View Point, at the top of the Falls, 
where the water makes it- awful plunge, and at Yosemite 
Point. 

“The irregularity of the wall at this point has been 
formed by water erosion. The time was, no doubt, when 
these waters made a clean, grand leap of 2,600 feet sheer 
into the Valley. It is not so difficult a matter to give a 
fair description of the physical features of this, the highest 
waterfall in the world, but it is utterly impossible to con¬ 
vey to another the sensations produced upon the mind 
when standing for the first time within the sound of its 
awful roar. The Yosemite trail must be climbed if you 
expect to arrive at anywhere near an adequate conception 
of the impressiveness of 1,600 feet of falling water. 

“Sometimes the wind, when it comes sweeping up from 
the Valley, catches this downpouring torrent, unbraiding 
its tresses, twirling it into vapory fragments against the 


20 


YOSEMITE VALLEY„ 


cliffs, and almost blowing it back into the sky from 
whence it seems to come.” 

The Royal Arch Fall 

This pretty Fall is on the same side of the Valley as the 
Yosemite, about two miles farther up. It is a small 
stream fed by melting snow around the North Dome, and 
disappears early in summer. It is about 2,000 feet high, 
and takes its name from the Royal Arches that are formed 
in the wall of the Valley at this point. Climb up to the 
base of the Fall, and you will find a large natural bowl or 
basin. The rippling music of this Fall lulls the tired 
camper to sleep, for here are the great camping-grounds 
of the Valley. 

Along the Vernal-Nevada Falls Trail 

One day’s sightseeing can well be put in visiting the 
Vernal and the Nevada Falls, and the various points of 
interest en route that can be seen from the trail. This 
trail not only goes to the two falls, but it also leads on to 
Little Yosemite and Clouds’ Rest, as well as to the 
heights of Glacier Point. These points are fully de¬ 
scribed in the latter part of the article on Nevada Falls. 
Now, unless you are limited to two days, do not attempt, 
in one day, to do more than go to the top of the Nevada 
Falls. This advice especially refers to camping parties, 
whose time is not so limited as are the regular tourists. 
Even the latter would do well to heed this advice. It 
would be much better to go over the ground a second 
time rather than to attempt to go to the Falls and Clouds’ 
Rest, or the “round trip,” via Glacier Point, in one 
day. Of course, there are exceptions to this, and if you 
are very much limited in time, and can take but two 
trips above the floor of the Valley, then we would 
say, take the Yosemite Falls first, and then the “round 
trip.” If you are limited to one day, the latter trip 
would give you the best results; for it would not only 
give you these two Falls, but also the wonderful view 
from Glacier Point. 

Mirror Lake and the Hitching Rail 

In making this trip, we assume that you have first 
visited Mirror Lake. This you must do in the morning, 
and you should be there about 7:30, and remain until 


1 



m 'M 

i 



3»n§. *. * 


r i> 33 


e a9 

§.p'. 

f 


Photo by Taber , S. F. 


UP THE ZIGZAGS, NEAR NEVADA FALL. 






22 


YOSEMITE VALLEY. 


the sun shines all over the lake. This time varies. If 
at the hotel, or either of the camps., you will be told 
as to the proper time to get there. Upon your return 
from the lake, follow the left-hand road across the creek, 
and on for about a mile. This will bring you to the trail 
leading to the Vernal Falls. A sign-board will indicate 
the spot. If you have a team, cross the bridge and 
leave it at the hitching rail noted above. If you do not 
come via Mirror Lake, and are from some point below 
or near the guardian’s office, follow the main right- 
hand road on the south side, via Camp Curry, and this 
also will bring you to the hitching rail- 


The happy Isles and Power-House Are Here 

About 500 feet to the right of the hitching rail, you 
cross one of the branches of the Merced, on a log, and 
you are then on one of the Happy Isles. On some later 
trip, by all means spend a few hours in this enchanting 
spot. Here, too, is located the power-house of the Yo- 
semite electric-light plant. This is state property, man¬ 
aged by the Yosemite Valley Commissioners. 

Sierra Point Near, Too 

This interesting view-point is within a short distance 
of here, and we would suggest that here, too, you can 
profitably spend a part of a day. There is not very much 
of a trail to it as yet, but a way has been “blazed” from 
near the water-trough on the Vernal Falls trail, but a 
short distance from its starting-point. Once you find 
the commencement of the trail, the “blazes” and “monu¬ 
ments” will lead you safely to the iron railing on the 
point. The latter is about 1,000 feet above the trail, 
which can be plainly seen below you. From the top of 
Sierra Point, you can see four of Yosemite’s waterfalls,— 
the Yosemite, the Illilouette, the Vernal, and the Nevada. 
The ascent is short and steep, but the view is worth it all. 

Off for the Falls 

With these necessary introductions to points that are 
well worth another trip, we now proceed on our journey 
to the Vernal and the Nevada Falls. It is now about two 
miles to the foot of the Vernal, and along that trail will 
come a succession of views that have no parallel on earth. 
As we pass around Point Rea, we suddenly behold off to 
the right the 


SOUVENIR AND GUIDE, 


21 


lllilouette Fall 

It is a hard and rugged climb up to its base, and one 
rarely attempted. However, you get many good views 
from the trail from which you now see it, and should 



Photo by Fiske, Yosemile. 

IN MIDWINTER, YOSEMITE. 


you at any time make the “round trip” to Glacier Point, 
that is, the trip via the Point, and then around to the 
Nevada and Vernal Falls, or via the Vernal and Nevada 
Falls, and then to the Point, and down to the floor of 
the Valley, you would in either case view this beautiful 


3 




24 


YOSEMITE VALLEY. 


and interesting fall from near its top. This fall is about 
500 feet high, with a series of wild and rushing cascades 
below. 

Surprise after surprise, enchantment after enchantment, 
greet you as you make the last ascent along the flank 
of Grizzly Peak, before crossing the river again, of the 
rugged Anderson trail. The great wall on the opposite 
side of the Merced is called Panorama Wall. It rises 
4,000 feet above the river; its sides are almost perpendic¬ 
ular, and it is the highest and most continuous wall of 
the Yosemite. Should you make the “round trip” to 
Glacier Point, your trail will carry you some distance 
back of the edge of this perfect rock-wall. Now 3 r ou 
make a slight descent, and you are at the bridge. In¬ 
tuitively you look up the boulder-bedecked, roaring 
Merced, and in the distance, about half a mile above, you 
catch the first glimpse of the ever-wonderful and beau¬ 
tiful 

Vernal Fall 

Well has the Vernal been named the “Cataract of Dia¬ 
monds.” From your point of view it seems to plunge 
into the bowels of the earth, and then to return in the 
form of fiery spray and smoke. Enchanting and awe¬ 
inspiring is this view, and we leave it with reluctance. 
However, within a short time we shall have a closer ac¬ 
quaintance with this peerless Fall. Once more we con¬ 
tinue on our way, and in a few minutes we come to a 
great overhanging rock and an old cabin. The latter 
when tolls were charged upon this trail, was the toll¬ 
house. The trails are now owned by the state. In early 
days visitors painted their names on the face of this 
great boulder, hence it has been well named 

Register Rock 

Here the trail forks. The right-hand one is the horse 
trail, and it enables you to reach the top of the Vernal, 
via 

Clark’s Point 

From the rock balustrade of the latter you look down 
upon the Vernal. The view is one to make you shudder, 
and you quickly continue on your way. 

The left-hand trail at Register Rock is a foot-path. In 
a few minutes it brings us to 


SOUVENIR AND GUIDE. 


25 


Lady Franklin Ifack 



so named because that distinguished lady visited the 
Yosemite in 1859, and being very feeble at the time, was 
cai ried up to this rock by the guides on a chair, and 
from here she viewed the Fall. You continue on up the 


Photo by D J. Fulev. “ Tourist" Studio . Yosemite 
VERNAL FALL, 350 FEET. 

trail into the swirling mist of the Fall, and then on up to 
the foot of the 

Granite Stairway 

This is close to the famous ladders of other days, which 
are still there. From the second bench on these ladders, 
in the early ’6o’s, a gentleman, then proprietor of a well- 


YOSEMITE VALLEY. 


2fi 


known restaurant in San Francisco, fell into the gorge 
below, and was fatally injured. At that time there was 
not any railing there, and so, stepping aside to allow 
some ladies to pass, he lost his balance, and, as noted 
above, fell into the gorge. The distance was not great, 
less than a hundred feet. This is the only fatal accident 
that has ever happened on the trails of the Yosemite. 
But we are digressing, and so must ascend the granite 
stairway to the top of Vernal Fall. 

When a party is accompanied by a guide, he will, if 
requested, take the horses around on the trail, and the 
visitors may ascend the ladders and be joined by the 
guide and horses a short distance from the head of the 
Fall. Some make the passage of the Stairway when re¬ 
turning to the Valley, as it is much easier than the up¬ 
ward climb. In the early part of the season there is con¬ 
siderable spray between the foot of the Fall and the 
Stairway, and an overcoat or waterproof garments will 
not be out of place. If those garments are not at hand, 
do not hesitate about the trip; it is one you will never 
forget. 

From the Top of the Vernal 

On the top of the Fall, and overlooking the wild, weird 
scene below, the rugged canyon of the Merced, is an iron 
railing. It permits of your leaning over the mighty 
abyss. The river here is about 80 feet wide, and its 
granite bottom is as smooth as glass. Over this per¬ 
fectly square-cut mass of granite the Merced starts upon 
its awful plunge, gently at first, like a beautiful piece of 
embroidery, carried downward by the gentle breezes of 
the early morn. But it soon increases its pace, and 
dashes upon the rocks 350 feet below with twice the force 
of the waters of Niagara. Says Dr. Peck: “This beautiful 
Fall of water the Indians poetically named ‘The Cataract 
of Diamonds.’ Here the Merced River breaks over a 
sharp, straight ledge 80 feet wide, and leaps vertically 
down 350 feet; ‘a sheet of water of sparkling brightness 
and of almost snowy whiteness, that is shattered into 
millions of scintillating crystals, that sparkle and flash 
like a cataract of diamonds: and then out of the billions 
of spray below are formed dazzling rainbbws that arch 
the boiling abyss with halos of glory. Here one is pro¬ 
foundly impressed with the feeling of infinite familiar 
at Niagara. Smaller than that international wonder, yet 
the Vernal Fall being twice as high and the glistening 
whiteness and diamond brilliancy of the cataract so su- 



Photo by D. J. Foley. “ Tourist" Studio, Yosemite 

NEVADA FALL, FRONT, 605 FEET. 




28 


YOSEMITE VALLEY. 


perior its beauty will never be eclipsed by the grandeur 
of the other.’ ” 


She Was Enthused 

In “Yosemite as I Saw It,” by Dr. Cora A. Morse, of 
San Francisco, we find the following: “Leaning over 
nature’s massive (rock) balustrade, a look downward is 
appalling. The heart sinks, the knees quiver, but the 
look repays. Lying there on the carpet of green, hun¬ 
dreds of feet below us, is a rainbow, true in color as any 
that ever arched the dome above.” 

The “hundreds of feet” noted by the doctor is only 
about 350; but she was naturally, very much enthused, and 
so this little matter can well be overlooked. 

A few feet back from the iron railing you will notice a 
small stump of hard, black rock, protruding out of the 
granite. It is about six inches higher than the surround¬ 
ing granite, and on its face can yet be found the glacial 
polish of 32,000 years ago. r l his will give you some idea 
of how slowly the river bed is wearing away at this point. 

Immediately above the top of the fall the river expands 
and opens into the 


Emerald Pool 

When the river is fairly low (latter part of July) there 
is good trout fishing in this beautiful pool of water. 
Above the Pool we come to the 

Silver Apron 

where the river bed is one wide, smoothly-polished gran¬ 
ite floor, sharply descending, and over this the river flees 
with the speed of the swiftest limited express, sixty miles 
an hour. Even during flood times the water is but a few 
inches in depth. Step not into it, or your friends will 
“drag” for you in the emerald depths of the Pool below 
you. We are now en route to the 

Nevada Fall 

and soon cross the river on the bridge. The river be¬ 
neath you, rushing, roaring, and flying swiftly by, is called 
the 

Diamond Cascade 

You can readily understand why it is so called. 


SOUVENIR AND GUIDE. 


29 


We are now at the foot of the Nevada Fall, which is 
nearly a mile above the Vernal. Here was formerly the 
Casa Nevada (Snow’s), which was accidentally destroyed 
by fire during the season of last year. It had not been 
used as a hotel for nearly ten years. Those who have 
visited this Fall before will note its absence with many re¬ 
grets. 

To the left of the Fall majestically rises that unique and 
well-named pile of granite, 

Liberty Cap 

to a height of nearly 2,000 feet above the pool at its base. 
Its summit is accessible from the opposite side, and the 
view of the Fall a most magnificent one. It is a rather 
difficult but not a dangerous climb, and has been made by 
many. 

Up the Zigzags 

You now ascend the “zigzags” up the gorge to the left 
of the Fall. About half way up you will get a most mag¬ 
nificent side view of the latter. If you have a camera, 
here is where you can get a good picture. The ideal time 
to “snap” this is about the noon hour. Then there are 
deep shadows on the side of the Fall. You now continue 
up the trail, and you will soon come to the* “forks of the 
trail,” so to speak. These are only about three-quarters 
of a mile from the foot of the Fall. Now note that the 
left trail goes on to the 

Little Yosemite and Clouds’ Rest 

while the right one leads over to the top of the Fall, from 
where it continues on to Glacier Point, distant about four 
miles, while the distance to Clouds’ Rest is about six miles. 

At the top of the Fall you will find an iron railing, and 
from its rails you can well appreciate the following pen 
pictures from two visitors. The first is from the pen of 
the late Dr. Peck, a gentleman well known in the east, 
a brother of Bishop Peck. 

“The whole of the Merced River,” he wrote in ’92, “here 
plunges down 605 feet, with reverberating and mighty 
billows of mist and arching rainbows. Professor Whitney 
says this is one of the grandest waterfalls in the world. 
But one of the most singular and fascinating aspects of 
this Fall, not mentioned in any guide-book I have ever 



Photo by D.J. Foley. “ Tourist" Studio , Yosemite. 

PROFILE OF NEVADA FALL, 605 FEET. 





SOUVENIR AND GUIDE. 


31 


seen, was first noticed and its beauty remarked upon by 
my wife, and that is the water rockets that shoot slowly 
and gracefully downward and burst into showers of spray- 
stars and foaming splendor, more beautiful, if not so daz¬ 
zling, than the fiery rockets that are nearly every evening 
shot into space from the heights of Glacier Point.” 

"Impatient to look down from the top of Nevada,” 
writes P. L. Stanton, of Santa Barbara, “I hurried up the 
path which winds around a wonderful dome called the 
Cap of Liberty. It was nearly noon when I leaned 
against the iron railing and gazed down on a scene that 
made me say, without the least mental reservation, ‘Here 
is a combination of beauty and grandeur that must be 
unequaled the world over.’ Here the Merced River leaps 
joyfully down to a depth of over 600 feet. About two- 
thirds of the way down much of it breaks on a mighty 
boulder, only to give perfection to the scene. Niagara is 
grand, and its majesty inspires awe, but the best picture 
it can give pales before the view that now charms and 
moves my soul, as no earthly scene ever did. As the 
waters, clear as crystal and as white as snow, leap into 
the quivering, noonday rainbow hundreds of feet below, 
breaking into millions of sparkling gems, and then into 
soft, snowy spray, I looked with ecstasy upon the scene. 
T trembled with emotion; I wept in utter abandon. I left 
the scene with emotions never to be described.” 

Glacial Evidence Here 

About 200 feet above the top of the Fall, on the north 
side of the river, you will find many “patches” of the 
glacial polish and scoring. Carefully examine these, for 
they are interesting, and fully disprove Professor Whit¬ 
ney’s assertion that there are no evidences of glacial action 
in the Yosemite. 


Fish in the Little Yosemite 

As the Little Yosemite really commences here and ex¬ 
tends up the river for about six miles, we digress a moment 
to tell you that the fish commissioners of this state have 
fully stocked the river here with eastern brook, Lake 
Tahoe, and other varieties of trout. Prior to their stock¬ 
ing this stream there were no fish above this Fall. 

The Cascade Fall 

This Fall is about eight miles from the guardian’s 
office, on the Merced-Santa Fe route. It is at the extreme 


YOSEMITE VALLEY. 


32 

lower end of the Valley, and is about 600 feet in its de¬ 
scent. k hose timid people, or individuals who do not 
feel able to climb to the higher points, should not neglect 
visiting the Cascades of the Merced and the Fall. There 
are many interesting points along the way. You drive to 
the foot of the Lower Yosemite Falls, and you pass almost 
by the base of El Capitan. You will find the route a 
grandly picturesque one. If a camper, or if you can spare 
the time, take a day to the trip. On the return trip cross 
the Pohono Bridge, and visit the Bridal Veil Fall in time 
for the afternoon rainbows. You should be there at about 
5 o’clock. 


The “Tourist” Studio and Office 

The “Tourist” Studio and office, from which this work 
is published, is located next to the guardian’s office. 
There is much of interest here for the visitors. In one 
of the rear rooms is a fully-equipped little printing-office, 
from which is issued the Yosemite “Tourist” nearly 
every day during the season of travel. E. E. Foley is 
our assistant on the “Tourist.” Back of this room are 
the dark rooms of the studio. Here are made the beau¬ 
tiful platinums and carbons to be seen in the studio in 
the front part of the building. Here, too, we do all our 
developing and printing for the visitors. Possibly it were 
a little bit of egotism for us to say that in the studio you 
can see some of the finest photographs of the Yosemite 
and big trees ever exhibited here. 

Carbon and cheaper pictures, developing and printing at city rates 
at the “Tourist” Studio 



SOUVENIR AND GUIDE. 


S3 


POINTS, PEAKS, AND DOMES 

OF THE YOSEMITE 

The points, peaks, and domes of the Yosemite are im¬ 
mense, awe-inspiring, sublime. What glories of rock¬ 
building here greet the eye! Take the first view of the 
Valley from any of the roads: On the left stands the grim, 
massive lion, El Capitan, a corner-stone to set a world 
upon, while to the right is the Leaning Tower, Cathedral 
Rocks, and the spire-peaks of the Spires. Away in the 
distance is the great Half Dome, flanked by Clouds’ Rest, 
the whole penetrating a background of Alpine sublimity 
it were useless to attempt to describe. As you first enter 
the Yosemite 3>-ou will pass on your left El Capstan, the 
Three Brothers, the largest of which is Eagle Peak:, Yo¬ 
semite Point, Indian Canyon, the Royal Arches, Wash¬ 
ington Tower or Column, and the North Dome. On the 
right or southern side are Inspiration Point, Artists’ Point, 
Leaning Tower, Cathedral Rocks, Cathedral Spires, the 
Sentinel, Union Point, and Glacier Point. At the eastern 
end of the Valley are Grizzly Peak and the Half Dome, 
while in the distance are Clouds’ Rest and Mt. Watkins. 

The Yosemite from Inspiration Point 

From Inspiration Point, on the Raymond-Wawona route, 
the visitors get their first view of the wonders of Yosemite. 
In other years this was known as the Mariposa road. 
This point is about 1,500 feet above the floor of the Valley. 
Old Inspiration Point is 1,000 feet higher. From about 
the present point, on the old Indian trail, Yosemite was 
discovered in ’51. To thousands of visitors this question 
has been put, “Was this view of the Yosemite equal 
to your expectations?” It is not at all out of the way to 
answer this question by saying that to at least ninety 
per cent it has been far greater than their fondest ones, 
and this is saying very much. When the only Barnum 
gazed upon the Yosemite from here, he said, “This is 
the biggest show on earth.” Emerson said, too, that 
the Yosemite was the only place that “came up to the 
brag.” This was hardly the Emersonian way of expres¬ 
sion, but it tells much in five words. 

To many visitors this view ot the Yosemite almost 
dumbs their senses. From Dr. Cora A. Morse we quote: 
“We cross the bridge (at Wawona), and we are now in the 
Yosemite National Park. Soon the trees grow larger, the 


34 


YOSF/MITE VALLEY. 


mountains tower still farther heavenward, the chasms grow 
darker and deeper, the curves more abrupt, the road nar¬ 
rower, the ascent steeper. At the bottom of these vast 
chasms the river winds like a serpentine thread of light.” 

The Gates of Grandeur Here 

But “finally the last summit is passed,” writes Col. J. P. 
Irish, “and the last change is made to the sure-footed 



APPROACHING INSPIRATION POINT. 
(Raymond Route.) 


four-in-hand, which is to take the coach down the steep 
run into the Valley. The traveler need not be told that 
he is approaching the gates of grandeur. He feels it. 
Ahead, through the forest vistas, rise walls of rock, down 
whose sides streams run babbling and noisy to depths un¬ 
known. All are quiet. The funsters have quit funning, 
and the songsters have ceased singing. There is a tension 
of expectation, and an exaltation of feeling that are above 
expression. On spins the coach, and in a moment it 


SOUVENIR AND GUIDE. 


36 


reaches Inspiration Point and stops for the first view 
of the Valley. How many thousands of hearts have felt 
a new emotion here! Many minds have here felt a sense 
of separation from the body—as if the sun that shines upon 
the indescribable scene had etherealized the senses in order 
that their higher potency might grasp the marvels that are 
seen. Not a word is spoken. Every visitor is here im¬ 
pressed with the inadequacy of language to describe what 
he sees.” 

Artists’ Point 

As you slowly wind your way down toward the Valley, 
•you will soon come to Artists’ Point. From here many 
of the famous paintings of \osemite have been sketched. 
A trip from the floor of the Valley to Artists’ or Inspira¬ 
tion Point will well repay those who enter the Yosemite 
on other roads. 

Stanford and Dewey Points 

Both these Points are above Artists’ Point, near the 
rim of the Valley, and can be plainly seen from the floor 
of same. A trail leads by them, particulars of which are 
given under the article on Glacier Point and Sentinel 
Dome. 

The Leaning Tower 

This peculiar rock is to the right of the Bridal Veil 
Fall. 

El Capitan 

“There are two great cliffs in Yosemite the memory of 
which will linger uppermost in the mind as inimitable em¬ 
blems of massiveness, majesty, and strength, namely, E; 
Capitan and Half Dome. The former is in some senses 
the more impressive of the two; the bald, square, contin¬ 
uous front of solid granite mounting up at a single bound 
over two-thirds of a mile, with no apologies of stepping- 
stones. as half-way landing-places, marks this great but¬ 
tress as the only one of its hind in the world. The tall 
trees on its summit look like shrubs, and the heavy-winged 
cranes sailing past its upper walls, look like motes in the 
sunbeams. Clinging to the granite walls in a cloven 
niche half way to the summit, is a great pine tree, 79 feet 
high, that looks no larger than a fern.”— E. M. D. John¬ 
stone. 













SOUVENIR AND GUIDE. 


37 


The summit of El Capitan (The Captain) is 3,300 feet 
above the Valley. Its southern face protrudes about 60 
feet from a vertical, quite enough to be apparent to the 
eye. On its bold faces you can pick out almost any sort 
of figure. It is possible to reach its summit from the rear, 
but the trail is a long and rough one, and the trip will 
hardly pay you. 

“If some unmeasured and incomprehensible force could 
hurl St. Peter’s Cathedral with the swiftness of a cannon¬ 
ball against the face of El Capitan,” writes C. W. Kyle, 
“though ground to powder by the force of striking, it 
would affect this great rock much as our greatest iron¬ 
clads would be by the striking of a pea when thrown 
from a school-boy’s sling. 

“This overshadowing mountain is, unquestionably, one 
of the grandest and most massive rocks in the world. 
The colossal proportions of this great masterpiece of God’s 
masonry are slow in finding a lodgment in the mind. It is 
too great for one to easily comprehend, and any attempt 
to familiarize one’s self with it only serves to expand and 
enlarge its individuality. If some convulsion of nature 
should throw it over upon its face, as now presented to the 
Valley, it would require one hundred and sixty acres for 
its bed. Mountain pines, giants of the forests, appear 
upon its bosom much as mosses adorn rocks that are 
elsewhere called large.” 

Cathedral Rocks 

These are on the opposite or southern side of the Valley 
from El Capitan, the highest of which is 2,660 feet. The 
Bridal Veil pours down the western side of one of them. 
These three massive piles of granite of irregular shapes 
are sometimes called the Three Graces. As you pass the 
Bridal Veil, going up the Valley, you will see a strong 
resemblance between a cathedral of Gothic architecture 
and the Cathedral Rocks. 

Cathedral Spires 

The Cathedral Spires are marvelously beautiful and 
strikingly suggestive of the solemn offices to which they 
have been dedicated. One pauses as if to hear the chimes 
from the cloud-wrapped belfry. They are to the right and 
almost east of the Cathedral Rocks. The Spire on the 
right is 2,678 feet above the Valley floor, while the other 
one is 2,579 feet above the river. Their distinctly columnar 
form is about 700 feet. 



EL CAPITAN AND MERCED RIVER. 

The summit of E?I Capitan is 3,300 feet above the Merced. 



SOUVENIR AND GUIDE. 


39 


The Spires 

“No foot has pressed those stairways dizzy, 

No hand has touched those silent bells; 

No mortal sacristan there busy. 

Silence alone the story tells. 

Those aisles untrod, save by the spirits. 

Whose mortal forms rest ’neath the sod; 

They only have the power to hear its 
Chimes of God.” 

—C. IV. Kyle. 

Profile Mountain 

This peculiar formation forms a part of the south wall 
between the Spires and the Sentinel. It forms the front 
crag or highest point of the Fissures. Numbers of faces 
can be traced on it at almost any hour of the day, but you 
get its best effects from the afternoon light. 

The Three Brothers and Eagle Peak 

These points are on the northern side of the Valley, just 
above El Capitan, the highest of which is Eagle Peak, 
whose summit is 3,830 feet (Whitney) above the Valley 
floor. This is one of the best points to get a fine view of 
the Valley. It is a good day’s trip. It is reached via the 
Yosemite Falls trail, and its summit is about seven miles 
from the guardian’s office. The trip from the top of the 
Yosemite Falls is a delightfully pleasant one. 

Concerning the naming of the Three Brothers, Dr. Bun¬ 
nell, in his “Discovery of Yosemite,” says: “We had.cap¬ 
tured three Indians near here, and, being brothers, we so 
named these three rocky peaks. I afterwards learned that 
the Indians called them ‘Kom-po-pai-zes,’ from a fancied 
resemblance of the peaks to the heads of frogs when sit¬ 
ting up ready to leap. A fanciful interpretation has been 
given the Indian name as meaning, ‘mountains playing 
leap-frog. 

The Sentinel 

Well has this obelisk-like slender mass of granite been 
sometimes called the watch-tower of the Valley. It is op¬ 
posite the Three Brothers, and boldly stands out, overlook¬ 
ing the Valley. Its tip is 3,069 feet (Wheeler) above the 
river. Its front is nearly perpendicular for over 1,500 feet 
below its apex. Its summit is accessible, but the trip is 
a hard one and rarely attempted. Parties making the as- 

4 





Photo by D. J. Foley. "Tourist” Studio, YoSemite. 

CATHEDRAL SPIRES 


The Spires are 2,579 and 2,678 feet above the Valley, 




THREE BROTHERS. 

Eagle Peak, the highest, is 3,800 feet 



42 


YOSEMITE VALLEY. 


cent usually go to Union Point, and then select their own 
trail from there. They return down the gorge. But one 
lady, Mrs. G. B. Bayley, of Oakland, however, has been 
to the summit. She left a white flag there, and it stood 
the storms of ten winters. 

During the season of ’go, some students from the Uni¬ 
versity of California made the ascent, and proudly planted 
their “Blue and Gold” pennant upon its summit. But it 
was not to remain long, for within a few days some Stan¬ 
ford students climbed, too, to its dizzy heights, and low¬ 
ered the “Blue and Gold,” and in its place put their cher¬ 
ished color, the “Cardinal.” Ladies are not encouraged 
to attempt making this trip. 

Union Point and Agassiz Column 

This is the “half-way” or resting-olace between the 
floor of the Valley and Glacier Point. In distance, how¬ 
ever, it is more than half way, being two miles from foot 
of trail at the Chapel, and only one and a third miles from 
Glacier Point. Do not let distances encourage you too 
much here. It is elevation that makes you think that all 
Californians do not tell the truth when speaking of dis¬ 
tances, especially in Yosemite. So a mile of distance may 
mean an hour or more of “climb.” We think Union Point 
a good place to mention these little things—facts. Union 
Point is 2,350 feet above the Merced River. Glacier Point 
is only 900 feet above you. That wonderful and peculiar 
shaft of granite, Agassiz Column, is here. Proudly it 
rears its head above the Valley abyss, 2,000 feet below. It 
is 85 feet high, and its base is so small and frail looking 
that one wonders what holds the Column in its place. It 
was named in honor of the famous Professor Agassiz. 

During the season of ’96, Mrs. Agassiz, whose home was 
then, and may still be, if living, at Santa Barbara, visited 
the Yosemite, and, though quite elderly and feeble, she 
visited this famous rock, making the trip, from the hotel, 
on a mule. A mere incident, say you, in this hurly-burly 
world. 

We leave Union Point refreshed, and slowly we ascend 
to the Mecca of this trip, Glacier Point. At various points 
we apparently come close to the edge of the great wall, 
and it makes us soft of “creep.” But the element of dan¬ 
ger is wanting, for there are good rock walls on the outer 
side, and the trail is good and wide. But tarry not too 
long, for, as Professor Whitney well said, “the grandest 
sight on earth” is now about to open before your aston¬ 
ished gaze. 



Photo by D J. Foley. “ Tourist ” Studio, Yosemite. 

THE SENTINEL. 

The summit of the Sentinel is 3,069 feet above the Merced. 



44 


YOSEMITE VALLEY. 


Glacier Point 

This is the one trip of the Yosemite that you should 
not miss. If you have but one day in Yosemite, spend it 
on the Glacier Point trip. The view from it includes a 
mighty sweep of the snow-covered Sierras of hundreds of 
miles, and it looks upon twenty miles square the like of 
which and the equal of which no other spot on earth nor 
wealth can afford. You first come in sight of it at the 
village. As you near Camp Curry, you come to bare, up¬ 
right faces of rocks, rising 3,250 feet above. Look close 
and you will see a flag. It looks like a handkerchief, yet 
it is 18 feet long. Where that flag floats is an iron railing, 
from which you can look over and gaze on the Valley, 
3,250 feet below, where, says Derrick Dodd, “the sight 
is something to stop the beating of a chamois’ heart and 
cause spiders of ice to crawl down one’s spine. From 
here the entire Valley is spread out at your feet, where 
hotels are as huts, trees of two hundred feet mere shrubs, 
men as black spots on the surface of the green, Mirror 
Lake a bright speck, and an apple orchard of four acres, 
the trees set twenty feet apart, appears as a checkerboard.” 

There is a good, home-like hotel up there, in charge of 
Mrs. N. Lewis, a pleasant, popular hostess. The rates are 
reasonable. Many remain overnight to get “the gorgeous 
crimson-rosy glow of the setting sun,” and the “radiant 
light of the morning sun as it rises from behind the 
serrated outline of dark and rugged peaks, dispelling the 
misty shadows of the departing night.” 

Fireworks and Bombs 

Nearly every evening an exhibition of fireworks is given 
from the iron railing at the Point. This consists of push¬ 
ing cones and bits of wood, as well as sacks saturated 
with coal oil, over the precipice. It is a grand sight, the 
coals streaming down the great wall like so much water. 
Bombs, too, that give one all the effects of a loud clap 
of thunder, are frequently set off at the same time. This, 
however, all costs money, and so, if you want to enjoy it, 
arrange with some one up there, or by telephone, for the 
display. We can fully assure you that the man who at¬ 
tends to it earns his money, for there is a nerve tension 
about it few of us would want to undergo. When the 
horn toots, look out for the display and bombs. 

“The galaxy of glories,” says Dr. Peck, “which here 
speeds out to our vision,—Clouds’ Rest, Half Dome, Cap 
of Liberty, Mt. Lyell, Mt. Starr King. Vernal, Nevada, 














46 


yosemite valley. 


and Yosemite Falls, and the vast amphitheater of the 
High Sierras,—forms a panorama of splendors and sub¬ 
limities that, once seen, will remain in the memory for¬ 
ever a scene of exaltation and transcendent glory. But 
the pinions of thought soaring amid such heights and 
enchanting vision, sink in memories, and the wings ol 
imagination droop languidly in the vain attempt to re¬ 
produce any adequate conception of the wondrous views 
from Glacier Point You must see it if you can.” 

There is a good stage road from Glacier Point out to 
Chinquapin, 15 miles from Wawona, where it intersects the 
main Wawona and Yosemite road. 

This road is usually opened about the 15th of June, and 
then tourists can, if they so desire, go to Glacier Point 
and then by stage on to Wawona that evening. Some¬ 
times, by special arrangement, they make the trip from 
Wawona to Glacier Point, where they remain all night, 
and then down to the floor of the Valley next day. 

Sentinel Dome 

Is about a half mile to the rear and southeast of the Sen¬ 
tinel Rock. It is 4,160 feet above the Valley. The view 
from it includes a magnificent one of the High Sierras 
and the Valley. There is a good trail now from Glacier 
Point to the dome, and the trip to the former usually in¬ 
cludes the latter—in fact, it would not be complete with¬ 
out it. It is a little over one mile from the hotel. The 
road from Glacier Point to Wawona passes near the east¬ 
ern side of the Dome. 

Dewey Trail and Point 

This is a new trail, and it opens up a new galaxy of 
wonders for the visitor. Possibly it would be better to 
say, new points of view for the wonders already viewed 
from the floor of the Valley. This trail follows the south 
rim of the Valley from near Sentinel Dome via the Fis¬ 
sures, then across Bridal Veil Creek some distance back 
of the Bridal Veil Fall, then on to Dewey and Stanford 
Points and the stage road at Fort Monroe, the latter be¬ 
ing the first stage station just beyond Inspiration Point. 

As noted above, it gives you new points of view of the 
wonders of the lower part of the Yosemite. Tourists can 
frequently make that trip and, meeting the afternoon stage 
at Fort Monroe, reach Wawona that evening. For this 
information we would suggest that you consult Geo. W. 


SOUVENIR AND GUIDE. 


47 


Kenney, the affable manager of the Saddle Train Co., 
whose business it is to attend to the detail of this work. 
For those who have come via Oak Flat and Chinese, or 
via Coulterville and Merced, a day’s round trip is sug¬ 
gested. Mr. Kenney, too, can give you all the data. 

Camping parties desirous of making this trip can get 
full information, if they need other than given here, from 
the guardian, or at this office. Tourists and camping par¬ 
ties entering the Yosemite on either of the northern roads 
are advised to do the Dewey trail, for the Inspiration 
Point view alone will well repay them. 

The Fissures 

Have you the time, do not neglect a visit to the Fissures. 
They are about 2V2 miles from Glacier Point. You fol¬ 
low the trail toward Sentinel Dome, but before reaching 
its summit the trail forks. The right-hand one takes you 
to the top of the Dome, the left-hand one will take you 
out to the stage road. Follow this until you come to a 
finger-board directing you to take the trail to the Fissures. 
One of these is several hundred feet deep and about four 
feet across it. Go out to the side of the main gorge, crawl 
out to the edge on your stomach, and look down into the 
awful, yawning abyss below. Be sure that some one holds 
onto your legs while you are doing this. The sides of the 
gorge appear to deflect inwardly from a straight line, and 
you appear to be gazing into space. Visit the Fissures if 
you can, and our word for it, you will never regret the 
trip. 

Yosemite Point 

A trip to the top of the Upper Yosemite Falls includes 
a visit to Yosemite Point, which is but a short distance 
to the eastward. An iron railing has been built on the 
edge of the Point, so that you can with safety look over 
the terrible gorge beneath you, 3,220 feet (Wheeler). 
The Lost Arrow, or Giant’s Thumb, is a peculiar spur 
of granite that projects from the outer wall of this Point. 
It can be seen from the Valley floor. There is a beauti¬ 
ful Indian legend connected with the Lost Arrow, as 
follows: A young warrior fell in love with a princess 
of the Valley. The wedding day was set, and he went 
up to Yosemite Point to hunt in the country back of it 
for the game required for the feast. He agreed with her 
to come out to the Point when he had secured enough 
game, and to shoot an arrow into the Valley below. 



Photo by D. J. Foley. “ Tourist ” Studio, Yosemite. 

NORTH DOME, ROYAL ARCHES, AND WASHINGTON COLUMN. 




SOUVENIR AND GUIDE. 


49 


He went there, and while preparing to carry out his 
promise, missed his footing and fell over, landing where 
the Lost Arrow intersects the side of the cliff. Long 
she waited, but the arrow never came. In time she went 
up, and, gazing over the dizzy precipice, saw the mangled 
remains of her lover. She was lowered down by ropes, 
and rescued the remains. Hence the name, Lost Arrow. 
A trip to Yosemite Point will well repay one. 

Indian Canyon 

This is the name of the deep gorge eastward of Yosem¬ 
ite Point. In early days the Indians used to use this to 
enter and leave the Valley. There used to be a trail up 
ff to Yosemite Point. Since the Eagle Peak trail has 
been built, it has fallen into disuse, and is now impassable 
for horses. 


The Royal Arches 

These grandly-sculptured semi-circle indentations are 
on the northern wall opposite Glacier Point, and immedi¬ 
ately overlooking the old camping grounds. They are 
nearly a quarter of a mile wide, and the highest is close 
to the top of the wall, which is here about 2,000 feet per¬ 
pendicularly. The Royal Arches by moonlight are one of 
the scenes that will ever cling to the visitor. 

Washington Column 

Just eastward of the Royal Arches, and at the foot of 
the North Dome, is the Washington Column. It is a 
sentinel, as it were, of the grand and mighty giants that 
surround it. 


North Dome 

To the north of the Royal Arches and Washington 
Tower, looms up that peculiar and rounding formation, 
the North Dome. It rises above the Valley about 3,700 
feet. The summit is accessible from the rear,, but it is a 
difficult trip, and rarely attempted. 

Mount Watkins 

This imposing mountain can be seen from the upper 
end of the Valley; by walking up the canyon from Mirror 


50 


YOSEMITE VALLEY. 


Lake, one obtains a very fine view of its 4,000 feet of 
vertical elevation. It is beautifully reflected in Mirror 
Lake. 


The half or South Dome 

The Half or South Dome stands above the angle of the 
Merced River and Tinayah Creek. Its extreme height 
above the Valley is nearly 5,000 feet. On the side over¬ 
looking Mirror Lake its face is perpendicular for about 
2,000 feet below its summit. Here can be seen various 
figures, such as the Old Man’s Head, the train of cars, 
etc. At one time, 1875 and a f ew years later, there was 
a rope ladder on its northeast side, which is quite round¬ 
ing, and many visitors made the ascent, clinging to the 
ladder for a distance of nearly 1,000 feet. Many ladies 
also made the ascent. The sensation was very trying on 
the nerves. The ladder was built by G. G. Anderson in 
October, 1875, by drilling holes in the rock, driving 
wooden pins into them, to which iron eyes were fastened. 
He would stand on the highest pin while drilling for the 
next one, and so on to the top. Since the rope ladder 
rotted away, several attempts have been made to gain 
its summit, but all have failed. Anderson is no more, and 
the board of commissioners do not care about encouraging 
visitors to take such dangerous trips, and hence have not 
kept it in repair. Says that beautiful descriptive writer, 
E. McD. Johnstone: “Half Dome, or Tissaack (Goddess 
of the Valley), is perhaps the most imposing and awe¬ 
inspiring of Yosemite wonders. The mighty powers of 
nature that have wrought such marvelous wonders in this 
region have cleft this mighty tower in twain and disposed 
of the fragments in a manner as mysterious as it must 
have been awful. From a distance one might fancy that 
the stonecutter’s art had been brought to bear upon its 
beautifully rounded summit, but upon closer inspection 
it is found that time has been the carver. The ages have 
cut out huge concentric layers of granite, of which the 
entire dome is composed, and scattered them in pictur¬ 
esque confusion in the deep chasm that surrounds it. 
There is no feature of the Yosemite that presents so many 
aspects or rugged grandeur from every point of the com¬ 
pass as does this: no two views are alike, and yet from 
any standpoint it is overpowering, incomparable in its 
magnificence. It is r nong the first of the great peaks, 
after the sun’s rays have faded in the west, to catch the 


SOUVENIR AND GUIDE. 


51 


first glint of the moon’s pale splendor as the night queen 
rides out behind Mt. Starr King. 

Cloud Effects on the Dome 

“The Half Dome, gloomy, yet splendid, stands upon 
the right, and if the day be overcast, the gathering and 
vanishing of clouds about its summit would be a most 
interesting study. One peculiarity of this cloud-weaving 
process is the sudden appearance of a mass of vapor, per¬ 
haps a thousand feet below the summit, which did not 
appear to drift in from any adjoining body of moisture, 
but rather to have suddenly taken wing. Like some 
huge bird from ofT one of the cliffs, another and another 
vapory messenger, like trooping ghosts, steal up the 
crags to join it, and then the accumulated mass, squirm¬ 
ing and writhing, rolls up along the Dome, and when it 
lifts it is seen "to have left some of its color upon the 
peak.”—E. McD. Johnstone. 

Grizzly Peak 

This rugged Peak is to the south of the Half Dome. It 
is very difficult of ascent, only a few persons, so far, hav¬ 
ing reached its summit. It is well named. 

Cap of Liberty 

In approaching the Vernal Fall, you see, beyond the 
latter, the majestic top of the Cap of Liberty. It is to 
the left of the Nevada Fall, and rises nearly 2,000 feet 
above the little lake at its base. Its summit is accessible 
from the rear. It is not considered a difficult trip, but a 
rather hard climb. Many have made it. It is well worth 
the effort if you have the time and muscle. It is 7,100 
feet above sea level. 


Clouds’ Rest 

A trip should be taken to Clouds’ Rest, whose summit 
is 10,000 feet above sea level. This takes a full day, and 
the distance is 11 miles. “From Glacier Point, from the 
floor of the Valley, from Sentinel Dome, from every¬ 
where, the mighty Half Dome has dominated its end of 
the Yosemite. Very naturally this aggressive assertion 
of the Dome nettles the visitor, and there grows a desire,” 
writes Colonel Irish, “to humble this defiant rock that 


YOSEMITE VALLEY. 


52 

intrudes itself in every company. Behind it, and appar¬ 
ently lower down, stretches a long and sharp ridge, over 
which olten from Glacier Point the white clouds may be 
seen tumbling, like sheep jumping a fence. This is 
Clouds’ Rest. The trail is by the top of Nevada Fall and 
across the floor of Little Yosemite Valley before the next 
climb, which ends on the summit, 10,000 feet high. Now 
Half Dome lowers his stubborn crest and lies subdued 
like an ordinary boulder at your feet. You are in high 
society, hobnobbing on terms of nearly equal altitude 
with Mount Hoffman, the Lyell group, Gray Peak, Mount 
Dana, and the far Minarets. There is not that bird’s-eye 
effect had at Glacier Point, but in its place there is an up- 
in-the-world feeling that would lead one to cheer, except 
that this rare air is too thin for vocalizing much.” 

MIRROR LAKE 

Between the Washington Column and the Half Dome, 
surrounded by a beautiful forest, reposes one of the 
prettiest things of its kind on earth. It is Mirror Lake. 
There is a good wagon road to it. The echo effects pro¬ 
duced here are simply marvelous. Take a good strong 
“halloo,” and you will hear your voice repeated manj'’ times. 
To get the perfect mirror effects you must visit the Lake 
before sunrise, or the mirror effects will be destroyed. 

To do this you should leave the hotels or camping 
grounds at about 7 o’clock up to July, and at a later hour 
as the season advances. Those who are camping below 
the guardian’s must, of course, leave earlier. If you miss 
it the first morning go again. 

Another Yosemite Here 

“We were aroused at half past five to prepare for a 
day never to be forgotten in the gallery of precious mem¬ 
ories,” writes Dr. Peck. “First, a carriage ride of about 
thirty minutes brought us to Mirror Lake, which the In¬ 
dians named ‘Sleeping Water.’ This is an enchantingly 
beautiful Lake, embowered by trees and environed on 
high by the most noted domes of the Yosemite. We pur¬ 
posely reached there before sunrise. The Lake is mo¬ 
tionless and smooth as a mirror, and the reflected domes, 
peaks, and trees on its glassy bosom are seen in perfect 
outline, distinctness, and color. Astonishment and de¬ 
light transfix the gaze. There is another Yosemite of 


SOUVENIR AND GUIDE. 


Do 



Photo by Fiske, Yosemite. 

“PLUM DUFF.” 


The above picture represents how Dorothy and Ned Atkinson, whose home 
is in the Yalley, came down the zigzag trail from Glacier Point. The latter 
is 3,250 feet above the floor of the Valley. The trail is four miles long. Into 
the bag on the left Ned was carefully tucked away and tied in, for he had the 
danger side, because from many turns on the way he could look down a thou¬ 
sand feet or more. “ Plum Duff,” too. seemed to delight in getting as close as 
possible to the outer edges of the dangerous turns. His sister was put into 
the opposite bag, and thus safely loaded, with Mrs. Atkinson leading the 
faithful animal, they rode down to their Valley home. 






54 


YOSEMITE VALLEY. 


equal beauty and grandeur five hundred fathoms down. 
Dome, tower, spire, crag, peak, and every graceful line of 
beauty are as clear and more fascinating in the water than 
on the heights above us. But while we are gazing on this 
lovely spectacle of water, a pink, mother-of-pearl, irri- 
descent coloring appears in the depths we are watching, 
just over the shoulder of a lofty dome. We were riveted in 
expectation, and soon that for which we came was our 
joy. We saw first the golden-edged, then the full-orbed 
sun, in ail its splendor, rising a mile below the water, just 
as it was rising a mile above our heads. No wonder one 
writer says, ‘There is not a spot on earth yet seen by man 
that so charmingly blends majesty with beauty.’ Regret¬ 
fully we turn away from this enchanting spot.” 

The Lake is about three miles from the guardian’s office. 
To reach it you cross the bridge at the Sentinel Hotel, and 
then turn to the right and continue on that road up to the 
Royal Arch grounds; these are just beyond the blacksmith 
shop. Beyond that keep on the right-hand road. If upon 
your return from the Lake you desire to go to the Vernal 
and the Nevada Falls, simply keep the left-hand road, and 
this will lead you over to the starting-place, near Happy 
Isles. See section elsewhere devoted to this latter trip. It 
is in the part devoted to the Vernal-Nevada Falls. 

Roads and Trails 

On the floor of the Valley are twenty miles of fine car¬ 
riage road, furnishing delightful drives, and cut into the 
walls are twenty-four miles of trails for saddle animals, 
by which may be reached Eagle Peak, the top of Yosemite 
Fall, of Vernal and Nevada Falls, Clouds’ Rest, and Gla¬ 
cier Point. 

These are the finest mountain trails in the world. The 
Alpine trails do not equal them in variety and detail of 
scenery they afford, and do not excel them in the splendid 
grouping of waterfalls, widespreading mountain scenery, 
noble forests, and sky-piercing summits. The trails are 
triumphs of engineering, and with every rod traversed 
upon them the scene shifts and changes, so that interest 
never flags and the zest of it all grows with what it feeds 
upon. 

Carbon, Platinum, and Velox pictures at the ‘Tourist” Studio, 
from 7 5 cents per dozen to $5 00 each. 





SOUVENIR AND GUIDE. 


55 


The Yosemite Commissioners 


The Yosemite Valley, or Grant, having been ceded to 
the state of California in 1864, by Congress, being ac¬ 
cepted by this state the following year, has ever since 
been managed by a state board of commissioners, eight 
in number. These are appointed by the governor, and 
hold office four years. There is no salary, but their nec¬ 
essary traveling expenses are paid by the state. The 
annual meeting is held here in the office of the guardian 
on the first Wednesday of June, the governor presiding. 
The meetings are public. If you have a complaint or a 
suggestion to make, they are always pleased to receive 
such at their meeting here. Other meetings are held 
from time to time at the office of the board, in the Claus 
Spreckels Building, San Francisco. The secretary and 
the guardian are the only two salaried officers of the com¬ 
mission. The funds at the disposal of the board are as 
follows: $10,000 a year from the state, and about $3,000 
from rentals. This is the Yosemite fund. Besides this 
they receive $875 for the Mariposa Big Tree Grove, for 
the latter, too, is under the same management, being ceded 
to the state at the same time. 

The board of commissioners to manage the Yosemite 
Valley and the Mariposa Big Tree Grove now consists 
of the following: Hon. Geo. C. Pardee, governor of the 
state of California, ex-officio president: Chas. S. Givens, 
of San Francisco, vice-president; William G. Henshaw, 
Oakland; Wm. G. Kerckhoff, Los Angeles; Frank H. 
Short, Fresno; Thos. Hender, Sonora; W. W. Foote, J. C. 
Wilson, and W. H. Metson, San Francisco. J. J. Lermen 
is secretary and treasurer, and John F. Stevens is guardian. 
The two latter are usually appointed at the annual meeting 
held here during the early part of June. The latter is 
the commission’s local representative. 


Yosemite Flora and Shrubbery 

“The Yosemite Valley being a deep, narrow depression 
in a high plateau, the vegetation of the Valley is princi¬ 
pally the same as that of the plateau itself. The perpen¬ 
dicular sides of it help rather than hinder the distribution 
pf seeds, while the many streams that flow down the cliffs 


5 


56 


YOSEMITE VALLEY. 


are largely instrumental in bringing down to the yalley 
the plants of the regions above. This vegetation is es¬ 
sentially the same as that of the upper coniferous belt. 
It includes almost wholly the peculiar plants of the high 
summits, and also the great majority of the plants com¬ 
mon to the inhabited districts.”—J. W. Congdon. 

Along the river may be found the balm of Gilead, 
alder, dogwood, willow, and buckthorn. They are 
familiar old friends. On all sides you will see and 
scent the beautiful azalea. The manzanita, with its 
bell-shaped blossoms and its scraggly limbs, will greet 
you at every pathway and trail. Then, too, you 
will find the California lilac, whose scented plumes of 
white flowers are so pleasant to the eye and nostril. 
Then there is the “butterfly tulip,” “pussy’s paws,” ‘ ? even- 
ing primrose,” and hundreds of others. There are many 
varieties of ferns, some of them quite rare. The botanist 
will find much here to while away days and weeks. 

The Snow Plant 

This blood-red and beautifully-attractive flower is met 
with, shortly after the snow leaves the ground, on all 
routes to the Yosemite or Big Trees. It ranges from 
4,000 to 8,000 feet above sea level. “Its brilliant, semi- 
translucent stem,” says J. M. Hutchings, “and bells, and 
leaves that interwine among the bells, being all blood- 
red, their constituent seemingly of partially-crystallized 
sugar, makes it the most conspicuously beautiful flower 
born of the Sierras. From the common name it bears 
might come the impression that its birthplace is among 
the Sierra snows, but this is not the case; for, although 
its growth and early development are beneath deep banks 
of snow, it seldom shows its blood-red crown until some 
days after the snow has melted away. Many eminent 
botanists consider this a parasitic plant, some affirming 
that it grows only upon a cedar root in a certain stage of 
decay. I have, however, seen this floral gem flourishing 
over i,ooo feet above the habitat of cedars, and, after care¬ 
fully digging up over 20 specimens, could find no indica¬ 
tion whatever of their parasitic character. The height of 
its panicled blossom aboveground is from 7 to 16 inches, 
with a diameter of from 2 to 4 inches, its bulb root ex¬ 
tending as far down into the earth as the flower is above 
it. When digging up specimens, therefore, this fact should 
be remembered, as to break them off—and they are ex¬ 
ceedingly brittle—is to spoil them.” 


SOUVENIR AND GUIDE. 


57 





* 



Photo by D.J Foley. “ Tourist ” Studio, Yosemitc. 


MARY, A YOSEMITE INDIAN. 


Toll Roads and Tolls 

There are three toll roads entering Yosemite, the Wa- 
wona, or old Mariposa route, on the southern side, the 
Merced-Santa Fe and the Big Oak Flat routes, on the 
northern side. In the early part of the season, the upper 





58 


YOSEMITE VALLEY. 


part of the Oak Flat road is not opened, but you leave it at 
Smith’s place, above GrOveland. and cross over to the 
Merced-Santa Fe road, near Dudley’s. On the latter and 
the Oak Flat routes, the tolls are $1.00 per person each 
way. On the Wawona route they are $2.25 per horse 
into the Valley, and half rates on return trip. That is, the 
rates are $1.00 per horse over any of the roads from the 
plains to Wawona, and $1.25 from Wawona to Yosemite. 
Saddle horse and rider, 50 cents; pack animals, 75 cents. 

When you consider that the roads are kept in good 
condition, and that the owners have never received a 
dividend on their first cost, you will admit that the tolls 
are not excessive; in fact, they must be considered reason¬ 
able. Within a short time all these roads will become 
the property of the United States Government, for they 
are run principally within the lines of the Yosemite Na¬ 
tional Park. 

The Trail Mule Is Wise 

Dr. Peck thus speaks of the trip between Register Rock 
and the top of Vernal Falls: “Remounting, after the 
guide has tightened the girths for safety, we begin to 
climb a trail that seems impossible up that steep mountain 
to the top. But we go on, following our guide, ascend¬ 
ing steep on steep, by scores and scores of zigzags, picked 
and blasted out of a region which a chamois goat could 
hardly attempt to climb, turning points on butting crags, 
and looking down abrupt precipices thousands of feet into 
the canyon below. On we go, with no sign of the top, 
nor of our way out of this mountain prison. And yet the 
guide knows there is a way, and knows how to conduct 
us safely to it. 

“ ‘There is no danger,’ he says. And that is true, bar¬ 
ring the improvidable. The mule, by the instinct of self- 
preservation, will make no misstep. He is as afraid to 
go over that precipice as the rider. He shrinks from 
death as much as the most timid on his back. If he does 
not show as much fear as the rider, it is because the mule 
knows more than the man. He knows just how to pick 
his way, balances his load as he swings the corners, and 
steps so slowly and carefully that he can not fall. He 
won’t go off. You can not bribe or drive him over. So 
carefully does he pick his way, heedless of whip or spur 
plied by foolish or angry rider, that the caution of the 
mule is the safety of the man. With religious fidelity he 
treads that trail every day. His experience is better than 


SOUVENIR AND GUIDE. 


59 


your theory. Hence, throw fear to the winds, throw your 
reins on his neck, have faith in the mule, and let him 
have his way. Then there is no danger. With fear gone, 
the mule will do the rest.” 


Automobiles and Bicycles 


To Oliver Lippincott and E. Russel, of Los Angeles, 
the former being the well-known artist-photographer, 
whose photographic work is so much admired, belongs 
the credit of being the first to come to Yosemite in an 
automobile of the locomobile type. They were here dur¬ 
ing the latter part of June, of 1900, having steamed in, 
so to speak, from Fresno via Raymond and Wawona. 
On the return trip, the machine was run up to Glacier 
Point, via the regular stage road. It was run out upon 
the Overhanging Rock, and, with one of the guides, 
Walter Hensley, standing upright, it was photographed. 
As the machine took up all the space upon the rock, it 
became necessary for Mr. Hensley to crawl over the top 
of the high-back seat, to stand within the body of the 
machine. Strong ropes kept it from going over the face 
of the rock. Nevertheless, this is an experience that few 
of us would care to undertake. 

During August, a gasoline machine came in, via the 
same road, from San Jose. This was the pioneer to make 
a full trip. As a result of these two trips, many such trips 
have been planned for this season. 

The managers of the different stage lines operating here 
say that they will put on a line of horseless carriages 
just as soon as any company will build a machine that will 
do the work. They very sensibly think that the manu¬ 
facturers should do the experimental work, and not they. 

As to bicycles, a large number of them come here every 
season. The sensible stage horses no longer fear them. 
A number of ladies, too, have made the trip. If wheel¬ 
men would only realize that about twenty-five miles a day 
in the mountains is good and easy wheeling, there would 
be far less complaints from this army of sightseers. Fre¬ 
quently visitors come here on their wheels and carry a 
good-sized camping outfit, sometimes as much as fifty 
pounds. Such freighting, however, is not to be encour¬ 
aged. It is cheaper to send such by stage freight. 


60 


YOSEMITE VALLEY. 


The Little Yosemite 

A short distance above the Nevada Fall you enter the 
valley of the Little Yosemite, a great wonder in itself 
were it other than so near its big brother. It is about 
four miles long and from a half mile to a mile wide. 
The upper part of the Valley, above the cross fence, is 
private property, being east of the Yosemite Grant line. 
It is about 2,000 feet above the Yosemite. This part of 
the Merced was stocked with trout some years ago, and 
fishing is good here. The principal varieties are the east¬ 
ern brook and Lake Tahoe trout. 

Twilight on the Merced 

‘‘When the early shadows begin to fall and the breezes 
die out, when the clear light of heaven from above the 
mountain tops smiles up through its long, unruffled 
reaches, when a nether world of grandeur is reflected 
from its bosom, when the cliff swallow of the twilight 
wings his erratic flight along its margins, when the holy 
hour of night covers the face of the dying day, and even 
the stars of God crowd in to see some of its departing 
glory, then, truly, the river of mercy is a glorious river.” 
—E. McD. Johnstone. 

Camping Grounds and Campers 

A summer outing to the Yosemite, via the Campers’ 
Route, is the way about 2,000 people see its wonders 
every season. They commence to arrive the middle of 
May, and at any time during June from 300 to 500 laugh- 
ing, joyous, noisy visitors can be found encamped about 
the Valley. They are a jolly crowd, from the professions, 
the counting-rooms, the school-rooms, and the field. 
They come from the orange groves below the Tehachapi, 
from the raisin and wheat fields of the great San Joaquin 
Valley, from the verdant counties fringing the coast, and 
from the Sacramento Valley as far up as Chico. The 
large parties come mostly from the cities. Many revisit 
the Valley year after year, and never tire of it. Nearly 
all parts of the Valley are open to them. There is every¬ 
thing here that can make a camping visit a most pleasant 
one. Supplies of provisions can be had at the store at 
reasonable rates. Wood is found in abundance. The 
guardian expects you to be careful of your camp fires, 
always putting them out. Your horses are not allowed to 


SOUVENIR AND GUIDE. 


61 


run loose; you can stake them, however. You should 
call on the guardian, J. F. Stevens, when you first come 
in. He will fully explain matters to you. You will find 
him a most pleasant gentleman, and the information he 
will give you will be reliable. 

The cost of a trip of this kind will depend almost en¬ 
tirely upon the individual. We have known a party of 
six to make the trip, from a point 250 miles away, and 
remain out a month, at a cost of about $20 each. Had 
they to pay for their team, the cost would have been about 
$30. Other parties would have been out $40 or more 
for the same trip. Do not load your wagons down with 
unnecessary luggage. A too luxurious camp life is not 
always a pleasant one. Camp-fire entertainments are 
given frequently by camping parties. They are pleasant, 
informal affairs and enjoyed by all. It is not an uncom¬ 
mon occurrence to see 300 or more people around a blaz¬ 
ing camp-fire on such occasions. 

The Yosemite National Park 

When Congress, in 1890, set apart the Yosemite Na¬ 
tional Park, it made a mistake in so naming it, for the 
average visitor at once concludes that the National Park 
also includes the Yosemite Valley proper, which is not 
so. The latter is purely under state management, while 
the former is under the immediate control of the national 
government, a troop of cavalry being stationed at 
Wawona, to patrol it, every summer. 

The lines of the National Park extend to Wawona, to 
three miles west of Hazel Green, and to a point about 
one mile west of Crocker’s, all of these points being lo¬ 
cated on the three roads leading to the Yosemite, and dis¬ 
tant about 25 miles. The eastern line of the great park 
extends to the crest of the Sierras, and to points about 
40 miles north and south of the Yosemite. At the Sierra 
Club here you will find maps on file showing you the 
lines of the Park. It has nearly 1,500 square miles, and 
about 624,000 acres of land. 

The object of setting apart this vast domain was to pro¬ 
tect the watershed of the Yosemite, its forests, and shrub¬ 
bery, from the firebrands of the sheep-herders. For years 
previous to that time the vandals annually set out fires 
to burn off the underbrush so that feed would be good 
for their herds the following year. But, thanks to the 
watchfulness of the soldiers, these people and their herds 


62 


YOSEMITE VALLEY. 


have gone elsewhere., and so the beautiful vales and glens 
of the Sierras have once again appeared in all the beauti¬ 
ful colors of their native flora. Then, too, the lumber¬ 
men, vandals of another but equally dangerous sort, have 
been prevented from cutting out the timber along the 
three routes to the Valley. Of course this hardly looks 
fair to the men who put their money into these timber 
claims, who expected to sell their claims to a lumber syn¬ 
dicate; but there is only one Yosemite, and its forest ap¬ 
proaches should be kept in a virgin state forever. How¬ 
ever, the government should repay these people at once 
the amount of their purchase money and reasonable inter¬ 
est. The government should own, too, the three toll- 
roads that run through the Park. It is not to Uncle 
Sam’s credit that tolls have to be collected on roads run¬ 
ning through his National Park. 

The Yosemite Valley, which is a state reservation, 
managed by a state board of commissioners, is thus sur¬ 
rounded by the Yosemite National Park. The two parks 
become somewhat mixed in the minds of the visitors at 
times. The former was ceded in trust to the state of 
California by an act of Congress, June, 1864. This grant 
also includes the Mariposa Big Tree Grove. It contains 
36,000 acres, the Yosemite having about 26,000 acres, of 
which from 2,000 to 3,000 acres are meadow lands. The 
grant is twelve miles long, with an average width of about 
three miles. Its north and south lines are about one mile 
back from the rim of the Valley. It commences at a 
point a short distance this side of the Cascade Fall, cross¬ 
ing the Oak Flat road at Gentry’s and the Wawona road 
at Fort Monroe, near Inspiration Point. Its eastern 
line extends from Clouds’ Rest to Mt. Starr King. 

Firearms are not allowed within either of the Parks. 
While passing through the National Park you are not 
under strict military discipline. Put out your fires, and 
do not, if you manage to get through the lines of the 
Park with your guns, do any hunting. Bear are, of 
course, excepted. These big animals and deer have be¬ 
come very numerous within the Park during recent years. 
In many of the small streams and lakes various varieties 
of trout, especially the eastern brook variety, have been 
planted, and now the lovers of this delightful sport can 
find many crystal lakes and streams to fish in. 



Photo by Boy sen, Yosemite. 


PIUTE AND PAPOOSE. 













64 


YOSEMITE VALLEY. 


GENERAL VALLEY NOTES 

Of Especial Interest to Visitors 

One of the most interesting features at the guardian’s 
office is the Great Register of the Valley. All visitors are 
invited to register here, and to also write something in 
the “remarks column.” In the latter have been written 
some of the grandest and most interesting things about 
the Yosemite. You can spend hours reading the com¬ 
ments. The register opened in ’89 was filled last year, 
and another one is now there. However, the old one is 
there, too, and it is the one you should study. 

The Merced River is full of native (rainbow) trout, and 
there are many Eastern brook trout, too, in it. But the 
trout of the Yosemite are knowing, and unless you are 
something of an expert, you may not have the pleasure 
of hooking many of the speckled beauties. Worms are 
usually used for bait up to about the first of July; after 
that, fly-hooks. Fishing is much better in the Little Yo¬ 
semite, in which have been planted Eastern brook and 
Lake Tahoe trout. 

The Yosemite season opens April 1, and continues up 
to November 1. During that time the mail and express 
is daily from Wawona and Raymond. During the balance 
of the year, the winter months, the mail is brought in 
three times a week, via the Merced River trail. It is 
carried on horseback. About twenty people, young and 
old, remain here during the winter. The snowfall on the 
floor of the Valley during the past winter was five feet, 
being the heaviest of any season during the oast twelve 
years. This means great, roaring waterfalls late in the 
season. 

“Yosemite” means a “grizzly bear,” and it was the name 
of the tribe of Indians occupying the Valley when dis¬ 
covered, in ’51. Possibly the simple-minded natives, rec¬ 
ognizing the grizzly bear as the largest of animals, and 
also knowing the Yosemite as the biggest gorge in the 
mountains, took this name. 

The Yosemite Chapel is non-sectarian, and all visiting 
ministers are invited to hold services in it. It was built 
by the California Sunday-school Association. It is now 
located at the village, having been removed from its former 
site, at the base of the Sentinel, during the fall of 1901. 
Many of the great preachers of the world have held serv- 


SOUVENIR AND GUIDE. 


65 


ices within the walls of this unique and interesting little 
chapel. 

There is a good public school here, located about a half 
mile above the village, on the road to Camp Curry and 
the power-house. The term lasts for at least six months 
during each season, commencing about the first Monday 
in May. There are about twenty children in attendance, 
many of them coming from the families that remain here 
during the season. Miss Nettie R. Craign will have 
charge of the school during this season. She also held 
the same position during the past season. She is very 
popular with both parents and children. 

The wonderful carbon pictures of the “Tourist” (Foley s) 
Studio are made here in the dark rooms in the rear of 
the studio. We do the work ourself, and feel a little bit 
proud of the fact that we are the first person to do such 
work in the Yosemite. The process is a difficult one, 
and usually the pictures are very much more expensive 
than those made by the other processes. We have, how¬ 
ever, put a price upon this class of work that makes it 
but a little more expensive than the cheaper class of pic¬ 
tures. We also have a full stock of those wonderful and 
flexible papers, bromide and velox, on hand. Our sea- 
green carbon transparencies, too, are gems of the art 
photographic. And they are not any more expensive than 
the ordinary black and white ones. ? 

The local telephone runs from the guardian’s office to 
the Sentinel Hotel, Camps Yosemite and Curry, Coffman 
& Kenney’s livery stable, and Glacier Point. It is for 
the use of the public, and messages are free. The state 
pays for the rental of the machines. 

The Yosemite headquarters of the Sierra Club are lo¬ 
cated opposite the office of the guardian. This club is a 
San Francisco organization, and its mission is to open 
up the Sierras to visitors and to preserve the great forests 
of the range. It also encourages mountain climbing. 
The club rooms here are in charge of a competent per¬ 
son during the midsummer months. Visitors can profit¬ 
ably spend some time here. Here, too, is where reliable 
information can be had concerning trips to the High 

Sierras. ,. 

Mr J. F. Stevens, of Fresno, is the present guardian, 
having held the position during the past three years. The 


Carbon, Platinum and other pictures, developing and printing, at 
“Tourist” Studio. 





YOSEMITE VALLEY. 


66 

guardian is appointed by the board of commissioners at 
their annual meeting, held here in June. 

Of the original Yosemite band of Indians that once 
owned this Valley, and numbered its braves by the hun¬ 
dreds, there are now remaining but a baker’s dozen. 
These are of the Digger tribe, and they remain here only 
during the warm months. At other times they move 
down the river below the snow line. Many of the Indians 
now here belong to their enemies, the sturdy Piutes, from 
across the Sierras. All of both tribes are fairly industri¬ 
ous, the bucks doing all sorts of work, while the squaws 
spend their time making baskets. The elder of the former 
usually follow trout fishing. The present leader of the 
Yosemites is Captain Dick, whose “quarters” are near the 
foot of the Yosemite Falls. 

There is a good meat market here now, at the Sentinel 
Hotel. If you do not find the pleasant young gentleman 
who has charge of it (he had last year, and no doubt will 
also have the same during this), why, call at the office 
of the hotel. 

The average height of the walls is about 3.000 feet. 
They are not continuous, being intersected by many angles 
and gaps, points and domes. The walls in many places 
are perpendicular. 

The question is frequently asked, “Which is correct, 
Yosemite, or Yo Semite?” Custom and good usage say 
the former. All of the great magazines and papers of 
the world use the single word, Yosemite. The late Mr. 
Hutchings, almost alone, used the latter (Yo Semite) in 
all his writings. He may have been right. 

A cemetery is usually not a most pleasant spot to pass 
an hour, yet the Yosemite Cemetery is, possibly, an ex¬ 
ception. It is located at the mouth of Indian Canyon, 
and is about a half mile from the bridge at the hotel. 
One of the most interesting features here is the lot of 
Mr. Galen Clark, the discoverer of the Mariposa Big 
Trees, and for many years the faithful guardian of Yo¬ 
semite. Mr. Clark cares lovingly for this lot. He has 
planted two or more young Sequoias from the Mariposa 
Grove, and they show a thrifty and healthy grove. Be¬ 
sides these there are a number of wild and tame flowers, 
for he is a lover of these, too. During the dry months 
he cares tenderly for his mute friends—the Sequoias and 
flowers. 

Travel to this Valley is increasing very rapidly from 
year to year. Up to last season, and during the previous 
twenty years it had averaged from 3,000 to 5,000 per 



Photo by Alan Dove, New York. 


A “NATIVE” DAUGHTER. 






68 


YOSEMITE VALLEY. 


year. Last season the total number of visitors was be¬ 
tween 6,500 and 7,000, and this year promises even to 
break that record. About one-half of the visitors come 
here over the three stage routes, 200 wheel in, and 100 or 
more walk, using donkeys to carry their outfits. The 
balance drive here in their own rigs. The great national 
conventions to be held in this state during this summer 
will send many visitors here. 

PLACES OF BUSINESS 

The wants of the visitors are well supplied among the 
different places of business here. Considering the neces¬ 
sarily high freight rates, the cost of supplies can not be 
thought at all high. No one is allowed to engage in busi¬ 
ness here without a permit from the Yosemite commis¬ 
sioners. With the exception of the Sentinel Hotel, 
Jorgensen’s Studio, and possibly Coffman & Kenney’s 
livery stable, all permits are made out for only one year. 
Four years is the limit of the exceptions to this rule. All 
buildings belong to the state, except the chapel. 

Yosemite has the best general merchandise store of its 
history. It is now owned by Mr. Nelson L. Salter, ever 
genial, jovial, and witty, he having purchased the interest 
of J. B. Garibaldi during the past winter. The many 
friends of Mr. Garibaldi regret that his interests at Merced 
and elsewhere now demand his undivided attention, for 
it has been through his work and capital that we now 
have a store worthy of the place. Mr. Salter will now 
combine his former business, that of furnishing complete 
camping outfits, at a fair rental, with his store interests. 
If you do not want to haul your tents, stoves, mattresses, 
cots, dishes, provisions, etc., to the Yosemite, why, arrange 
to rent all these from Mr. Salter. If you desire, he will 
have everything in readiness for you upon your arrival. 
Write him for fuller particulars. 

Chris Jorgensen, the well-known artist of San Fran¬ 
cisco, has his new studio near the hotel. It is on the op¬ 
posite side of the river, and a short distance above the 
bridge. As the building was built according to his own 
plans and designs, it is one of the most unique and ar¬ 
tistic studios on the coast. He, and Mrs. Jorgensen, too, 
have carefully selected all the furnishing and furniture, 
and here again is noted the display of that excellent taste 
and judgment with which their work has been done. The 
studio is open every evening, and usually during the day. 
All visitors are welcome. 



Photo by D. H. IVulzen S. F. 

JORGENSEN STUDIO AND RIVER. 






70 


YOSEMITE VALLEY. 


The pioneer photographer here is Mr. Geo. Fiske. His 
residence, or “den,” and dark room are near the base 
of the great Sentinel Rock, about a mile below the vil¬ 
lage. His studio, however, is in a part of the Sierra Club 
rooms, opposite the guardian’s office. During a residence 
here of twenty years, including nearly all the winters, Mr. 
Fiske has secured many pictures that are gems of the 
photographic art. His snow, cloud, and storm effects have 
few equals in the photographic world. 

One of the very attractive and interesting places of 
business is Boysen’s Studio, located between the “Tour¬ 
ist” Studio and the general merchandise store. Here you 
will find displayed photographs of all sizes, from a kodak 
up to a bromide enlargement of 16x20, or larger. You 
will find it an interesting place to spend an hour. 

The Hallett-Taylor Co., Inc., consisting of J. B. Land- 
field, A. M. Cooley, Wm. Crittenden, Harold Taylor and 
E. R. Hallett, have an interesting studio at the “Sign of 
the Three Arrows,” under the management of Mr. Taylor. 

Within its large, well-lighted rooms can be found many of 
the best and most artistic pictures of the Yosemite. This 
was formerly the Lippincott Studio, this firm having pur¬ 
chased his interests during the past winter. 

The office of the Raymond-Wawona route is at the hotel, 
while that of the Merced-Santa Fe is at the Hallett-Taylor 
Studio. 

There are a number of places where laundry work is 
done, and good bread and pastry supplied the hungry. 
A call at this or the guardian’s office will give you their 
names. 

You will find a large collection of native Indian baskets 
at the residence of Mr. and Mrs. C. B. Atkinson, opposite 
the guardian’s office. Mrs. Atkinson is an untiring col¬ 
lector of the basket work of the Yosemite and Piute 
Indians. 

The barber shop and club house are connected with the 
Sentinel Hotel. 

Camp Curry, a hotel camp, is well located under the 
heights of that mighty rock, Glacier Point. It is about 
a mile above the village, en route to the power-house and 
Happy Isles. During the past season Camp Curry accom¬ 
modated 800 visitors. You will find Mr. and Mrs. Curry 
pleasant and popular host and hostess. The rates last 


SOUVENIR AND GUIDE. 


71 


season at this camp were $2.00 per day, $12 per week, and 
no doubt they will be about the same during this. 

One of the most interesting places for the visitor to 
visit is Starke’s native wood store. It is located near the 
chapel, at the village, adjoining the Hallett-Tayior Studio. 
Mr. Starke is an artist.- He has made a special study of 
the native woods of this section and Santa Barbara, and 
he has combined these beautiful woods into the most 
unique and artistic gems. He has a table which he values 
at $2,000, now at Santa Barbara. He may ship it to his 
place of business here, now that he has a room suitable 
for it. 

One of the necessary places of business is the blacksmith 
shop, about a mile up the Valley from the guardian’s office, 
on the north side of the river. W. E. Campbell is the 
smithy in charge. 

The Livery and Saddle Train Co., of Coffman & Ken¬ 
ney, is- located on the Royal Arch grounds, a mile from 
the office of the guardian. Here they care for a hundred 
or more horses and mules, good, careful animals for both 
road and trail trips. During the past twenty years this 
firm has carried 50,000 visitors over the Yosemite trails, 
and during all those years they have never had a serious 
accident. Such a record can not be found elsewhere. 
You will find Mr. Kenney at the hotel every afternoon 
and evening, and he will be pleased to give you full infor¬ 
mation concerning the various trips. 

This firm will hereafter make a specialty of personally 
conducting camping parties to the Hetch Hetchy and the 
High Sierras. The latter trips will be commenced as soon 
as the snow will permit, usually about July 1. The former 
can be visited at almost any time during the season of 
travel. 

There is but one hotel, the Sentinel, now here, the 
Stoneman having been destroyed by fire in August, ’96. 
Mr. J. B. Cook is the proprietor of the Sentinel. The 
service here is good, and the rates fair, when distance 
from railroad points is considered. About 200 guests can 
now be accommodated at the Sentinel at one time. Camp 
Yosemite, located to the right of the Yosemite Falls, and 
within ten minutes’ walk of the hotel, is under Mr. Cook’s 
management. Those who prefer camp life can find here 
an ideal spot to spend their vacation. It is located on the 
former site of the sawmill built for Mr. Hutchings in early 
limes by John Muir, the now famous writer and glacier 
explorer. The average rates at the Sentinel are from 
$3.00 to $4.00 a day, and at the camp, $2.00. Both weekly 


6 


72 


YOSEMITE VALLEY. 


and monthly rates at hotel and camp are considerably less 
than above. For more definite information, call on or 
write to Mr.. Cook. Camp Yosemite will open May 15, 
and will remain open until August 15. It will be in 
charge of Miss Hicky, of San Francisco, who was in 
charge during most of last year. She is a good hostess, 
and the guests of Camp Yosemite are fortunate in having 
her in charge. 

The dining-room was enlarged and a good bath-house 
built here after the close of the season of 1901. 

During the season of 1901 a public pavilion was built 
here. It is located on the river bank, near the guardian’s 
office. It is well lighted by electricity. Though used for 
all sorts of public doings, it was built especially for the 
dancing socials held here twice a week during the summer 
and fall months. The building is well finished, a credit 
to the commissioners. 

The H. C. Best Studio, near the guardian’s office, is one 
of the interesting places of the Yosemite. Mr. Best is 
a well-known painter of San Francisco, having spent the 
past two seasons here sketching and studying Yosemite 
in all its ever-changing moods. He has a good collection 
of paintings of the Yosemite and the big trees. Here, 
too, are to be found, in charge of Mrs. Best, a full line of 
photographs and photo novelties, made by Putnam & 
Valentine, of Los Angeles. 

The telegraph, express, and post-office are located in the 
building between the hotel and the guardian’s office. Dur¬ 
ing the winter months, November to April, we have a 
tri-weekly mail, carried on horseback, via Merced River 
trail. From April to November the mail and express is 
daily, via Raymond and Wawona. The mail is carried 
upon the regular stages, due to arrive and depart at noon. 
The express and papers are carried on the “Limited.” 

Yosemite has now a first-class electric light plant, located 
at the Happy Isles, two miles above the village. It was 
completed last year, and cost about $30,000. It is the in¬ 
tention of the commissioners (for this is state property) 
to extend it to different parts of the camping grounds at 
an early date. The rate charged last fall was about 65 
cents per light, except for the hotel, which was a flat rate 
of $150 per month. The plant was kept running all winter, 
between twilight and ten o’clock. Mr. Currie, a competent 
engineer, has charge of the same. 

















Photo b y D • J' Folg y- "Tourist" Studio , Yosemite. 

“CAPTAIN” PAUL. 

A native of Yosemite, ioo years old. 


SOUVENIR AND GUIDE. 


76 


OUR FIRST IMPRESSIONS 

“No other hour of life,” says Charles Wesley Kyle, 
“has furnished a tithe of the education and elevating in¬ 
struction which was crowded into this, our first view of 
the Valley. The enchanting paths of pleasure here termi¬ 
nate only at the limit of one’s capacity to grasp and com¬ 
prehend. It was a June afternoon that we visited this 
wonderful spot. The rain was gently falling, and the 
mist-clouds rolled in feathery blue-gray banks along every 
gorge, hanging over cliff and peak. We were descend¬ 
ing on the Oak Flat road, and spread out before us was a 
scene beside which the imagery of a Haggard limps pain¬ 
fully. It was preeminent in grandeur, powerful and sub¬ 
lime beyond conception. All preconceived ideas are ut¬ 
terly demolished by this one first glance. Away down, 
thousands of feet below us, in the bed of the Valley, comes 
the winding Merced River, gleaming through the mists 
like a silver tracing, fringed by green groves of pine, 
oak, and cedar. We moved on; silence held audience, 
broken only by the lovely little cascades which came 
laughing down the mountain and leaping into the road¬ 
way, over fern-nodding and moss-painted rocks. Alert 
with expectancy, wonder, and admiration, and a result¬ 
ant feeling of tumultuous delight, we slowly continued our 
winding descent into the Valley. At every step new and 
unique wonders were revealed, startling, soothing, as¬ 
tounding. The marvelous greatness was too colossal, the 
beauty too unique, the shocks arising from the unexpect¬ 
edness of the revelations followed each other in succes¬ 
sions too rapid to permit the mind to steady itself long 
enough for the grapnels to secure an anchorage for con¬ 
templation. Down, down, down, led the winding stair¬ 
way upon the narrow shelving, lapping fold over fold, 
presenting from its rapidly-changing position on the can¬ 
yon’s side a different point of observation, from which 
the same scenes presented constantly-changing features. 
Now you reach the clean, level, sanded floor of the Val¬ 
ley; the great walls tower above you on every hand in 
awful grandeur; they seem to lean inward and over you. 
Shut in from the world, the green floor of the Val¬ 
ley, the gray granite of the majestic walls, and the strip 
of blue at the zenith, only are visible. You are in the 
bridal chamber of the King. A deep feeling of reverential 
awe steals through the senses, and you move with care 
lest your presence should mar or in some manner destroy 


76 


YOSEMIl'E VALLEY. 


the dazzling brilliancy and delicate broidery of this royal 
palace. Colossal towers, dizzying spires, and palatial 
domes, all cloud-wrapped, snow-capped, and sky-mantled, 
overtop the whole, and render impressive beyond the 
power of speech to describe the effect which crushes with 
mountain weight upon the mind.” 

YOSEMITE IN WINTER 

The first falls of snow in the Sierras generally occur 
in November, but they do not come to stay; they are but 
fleeting messengers, and, having announced the approach 
of winter, are soon put to flight by the lingering god of 
the tropics, who still tries to maintain supremacy over his 
rival of the Arctic Zone. But it is his final effort to 
keep back the legions of the north. By the end of De¬ 
cember snow hides from sight all but the forms of the 
mountains, covering them with a vast winding sheet. 
Only the mighty trees toss from their wind-shaken 
branches the white deposit, which ofttimes with its un¬ 
yielding weight snaps their great boughs. 

Owing to the retreat of the sun southward, and the 
immense height of the walls of the Yosemite, there is 
a considerable difference between the climate on the north 
and south side of the valley during the winter. While 
on the south wall the sun never shines during this season, 
and a chilling shadow is constantly cast over that portion 
of the valley, the rays of the winter sun fall upon the sur¬ 
face of the northern elevation almost at right angles, with 
its plane. As a consequence, the weather on that side is 
mellow and mild, and in sheltered nooks among the warm 
rocks flowers are observed to bloom every month in the 
year. Nor is the frost severe even on the shaded side. 
Mr. Muir gives the average temperature for twenty-four 
days in January, at 9:00 a. m. and 3:00 p. m., as 32 de¬ 
grees Fahrenheit, the minimum being 22 degrees and the 
maximum 45 degrees 5 seconds above zero. This shadow 
side is naturally in strong contrast with the bright, cheer¬ 
ful aspect during clear days of the northern part of the 
vallev, whither resort the few winter birds that make their 
home therein. These comprise the water ouzel and the 
robin, woodpeckers and kingfishers, wrens and finches. 
There are also flocks of bluebirds and several species of 
ducks 


■y j Ji kd dd 


























MAP OF ROUTES TO YOSEMITE 


Distances from Yosemite Valley 

RAYMOND ROUTE 


To Inspiration Point. 8 mjies 

To Chinquapin, where road forks for Glacier Point.16 miles 

(It is about 13 miles from here to the latter.) 

ToWawona. 2 6 miles 

To Fish Camp. . miles 

To M,am. MiHs. 34 miles 

To Ahwahnee. 

To Grub Gulch. 3 , “ 

To Raymond. . 


Notes. Fresno Flats is 17 miles from summit, above Fish Camp, and 
Coarse Gold is 24 miles from same point. This road leads off to the left 
a short distance beyond Fish Camp. The distance from Yosemite to 
Fresno, via Fresno Flats, is no miles; Madera, 95, and Los Angeles 
about 380 miles. 

VIA WAWONA, MARIPOSA, AND MERCED 


Yosemite to Wawona. 26 mi]es 

Yosemite to Summit of Chowchilla Mt. Y Y 31 miles 

Yosemite to Cold Springs. . miles 

Yosemite to Mariposa. 5 - miles 

Yosemite to Princeton.YYY 60 miles 

Yosemite to Hornitos. 73 mjles 

Yosemite to Merced.Y Y Smiles 

Yosemite to Snelling (via Hornitos).77 miles 


Notes.—From Snelling you can reach either Modesto or Stockton. In 
going to either points beware of the sandy roads. Keep on the red 
lands east of the railroad. 

COULTERVILLE ROUTE 


Yosemite to Cascade Falls. 3 ra j] es 

Yosemite to Big Meadows. ... 12 miles 

Yosemite to Merced Grove of Big Trees.. . ." 21 miles 

Yosemite to Hazel Green. Y Y 24 miles 

Yosemite to. Wengerls-Ranch. ’ 34 miles 

Yosemite to Bower -Cave. • • • • 

Yosemite to Dudley's. Y Y J miles 

Yosemite to Coulterville. ’ 0 m ji cs 


DISTANCES—Continued 


Yosemite to Baxter’s (P. O.). . mjIes 

Yosemite to Merced Falls..68 miles 

Yosemite to Snelling. Y 73 miles 

Yosemite to Merced. . miles 

VIA LA GRANGE AND MODESTO 

Yosemite to LaiGrange (via Coulterville). 73 m ji es 

Yosemite to Robert’s Ferry.! ! 83 miles 

Yosemite to Waterford. YY Y 90 miles 

Yosemite to Modesto. . miles 

Yosemite to Oakdale (via La Grange). gS miles 

Yosemite to Stockton (via La Grange and Oakdale).125 miles 

OAK FLAT ROUTE 

Yosemite to top of grade at Gentry’s. 8 miles 

Yosemite to Tamarack Flat. H m ji es 

Yosemite to Crane Flat. . 16 miles 

Yosemite to Tuolumne Big Trees. Y. 17 miles 

Yosemite to Hodgdon’s Rauch. ....... 22 miles 

Yosemite to Crocker’s. YYY 25 miles 

Yosemite to Colfax Springs (Toll House). ....... 33 miles 

Yosemite to Hamilton’s. 3 g mile9 

Yosemite to Groveland.’ 45 m j] es 

Yosemite to Big Oak Flat.. 

Yosemite to Priest’s. YY '. Js miles 

Yosemite to Chinese Camp.56 miles 

Yosemite to Chinese Station. YYY! 3S miles 

Yosemite to Stockton (via Knight’s Ferry) . . . Y YYY 120 miles 
Yosemite to San Francisco (via this route).210 miles 


Notes.-Parties frequently desire to return via Sonora, Columbia, 
Murphy’s, and the Calaveras Big Trees. The distances from Chinese 
Camp to various points along this route are: Chinese Camp to Jamestown, 
6 miles; Jamestown to Sonora, 4 miles; Sonora to Columbia, 3 miles- 
Columbia to Parrott’s Ferry, 5 miles; Parrott’s Ferry to Murphy’s, 10 
miles; Murphy’s to Calaveras Big Trees, 16 miles. This makes the total 
distance from Yosemite to the trees at about 100 miles. Stockton, via 
Angels Camp, is from 60 to 70 miles from the Calaveras Big Trees. 
Sacramento, via Murphy’s and Sheep Ranch (inquire at Murphy’s as to 
the most direct route), is about the same distance. Parties en route to 
Lake Tahoe can continue on from the Calaveras Trees. The Natural 
Bridge beyont) Parrott’s Ferry and the Mercer Cave at Murphy’s are 
places well worth a visit. 



















































MAP OF ROUTES TO YOSEMITE 


Distances from Yosemite Valley 

RAYMOND ROUTE 


To Inspiration Point. 8 miles 

To Chinquapin, where road forks for Glacier Point.16 miles 

(It is about 13 miles from here to the latter.) 

To Wawona.26 miles 

To Fish Camp. . m ii es 

To Miami Mills.. miles 

To Ahwahnee.38 miles 

To Grub Gulch. 4 6 m iles 

To Raymond.60 miles 


Notes.—Fresno Flats is 17 miles from summit, above Fish Camp, and 
Coarse Gold is 24 miles from same point. This road leads off to the left 
a short distance beyond Fish Camp. The distance from Yosemite to 
Fresno, via Fresno Flats, is no miles; Madera, 95, and Los Angeles 
about 380 miles. 

VIA WAWONA, MARIPOSA, AND MERCED 


Yosemite to Wawona.26 miles 

Yosemite to Summit of Chowchilla Mt.31 miles 

Yosemite to Cold Springs.38 miles 

Yosemite to Mariposa.. miles 

Yosemite to Princeton.60 miles 

Yosemite to Hornitos.73 miles 

Yosemite to Merced.95 miles 

Yosemite to Snelling (via Hornitos).77 miles 


' • • . 1 w ' V: ! \ , I i. •* : 

Notes.—From Snelling you can reach either Modesto or Stockton. In 
going to either points beware of the sandy roads. Keep on the red 
lands east of the railroad. 

$ I 

COULTERVILLE ROUTE 


Yosemite to Cascade Falls. 8 miles 

Yosemite to Big Meadows..12 miles 

Yosemite to Merced Grove of Big Trees.21 miles 

Yosemite to Hazel Green.. miles 

Yosemite ta Wenger’.s Ranch.34 miles 

Yosemite to Bower Gave ..37 miles 

Yosemite to Dudley’s. f .42 njiles 

Yosemite to Coulterville.. . 50 miles 



























DISTANCES—Continued 


Yosemite to Baxter’s (P. O.).58 miles 

Yosemite to Merced Falls.68 miles 

Yosemite to Snelling.73 miles 

Yosemite to Merced.92 miles 

VIA LA GRANGE AND MODESTO 

Yosemite to LaiGrange (via Coulterville).73 miles 

Yosemite to Robert’s Ferry.83 miles 

Yosemite to Waterford.90 miles 

Yosemite to Modesto.102 miles 

Yosemite to Oakdale (via La Grange).98 miles 

Yosemite to Stockton (via La Grange and Oakdale).125 miles 

OAK FLAT ROUTE 

Yosemite to top of grade at Gentry’s. 8 miles 

Yosemite to Tamarack Flat.11 miles 

Yosemite to Crane Flat.16 miles 

Yosemite to Tuolumne Big Trees.17 miles 

Yosemite to Hodgdon’s Ranch.22 miles 

Yosemite to Crocker’s.25 miles 

Yosemite to Colfax Springs (Toll House).33 miles 

Yosemite to Hamilton’s.36 miles 

Yosemite to Groveland.45 miles 

Yosemite to Big Oak Flat.47 miles 

Yosemite to Priest’s.48 miles 

Yosemite to Chinese Camp.56 miles 

Yosemite to Chinese Station.58 miles 

Yosemite to Stockton (via Knight’s Ferry).120 miles 

Yosemite to San Francisco (via this route).210 miles 


Notes.—Parties frequently desire to return via Sonora, Columbia, 
Murphy’s, and the Calaveras Big Trees. The distances from Chinese 
Camp to various points along this route are: Chinese Camp to Jamestown, 
6 miles; Jamestown to Sonora, 4 miles; Sonora to Columbia, 3 miles; 
Columbia to Parrott’s Ferry, 5 miles; Parrott’s Ferry to Murphy’s, 10 
miles; Murphy’s to Calaveras Big Trees, 16 miles. This makes the total 
distance from Yosemite to the trees at about 100 miles. Stockton, via 
Angels Camp, is from 60 to 70 miles from the Calaveras Big Trees. 
Sacramento, via Murphy’s and Sheep Ranch (inquire at Murphy’s as to 
the most direct route), is about the same distance. Parties en route to 
Lake Tahoe can continue on from the Calaveras Trees. The Natural 
Bridge beyond Parrott’s Ferry and the Mercer Cave at Murphy’s are 
places well worth a visit. 



























SOUVENIR AND GUIDE. 


77 


ROUTES TO YOSEMITE 


There are now but two regular stage lines to the Yosem- 
ite, the Raymond-Wawona and the Merced-Santa Fe, the 
Big Oak Flat line having retired from the field. The 
Raymond line carries the mail and express, commencing 
the first Monday in April and continuing until the first 
of November. The Merced line starts about the same 
time. The Raymond line is known as the Yosemite Stage 
and Turnpike Co., with headquarters at Wawona. Mr. 
E. P. Washburn is the superintendent of the company, 
succeeding the late A. H. Washburn. Mr. A. S. Mann, 
613 Market St., San Francisco, is the general agent of 
the company. 

The Merced Transportation Co., Merced, Cal., have 
charge of the Merced-Santa Fe Route, the general ticket 



“I’M GOING TO YOSEMITE, TOO.” 












/ 


YOSEMITE VALLEY. 


office being at the office of the Santa Fe Railroad Co., 641 
Market St., San Francisco. It is in charge of Mr. E. R. 
Hallett. D. K. Stoddard is president and manager of the 
company at Merced. All of the roads leading to the 
Yosemite are toll roads. On the Oak Flat and the Merced- 
Santa Fe roads the rates are $1.00 for each person in the 
vehicle; on the Wawona road the rate is $2.25 for each 
horse, an(| half rates if you return over same route. 
Saddle horses are 50 cents each. 

Nearly all of each of these routes lies within the lines 
of the Yosemite National Park. As it is not to the credit 
of Uncle Sam to collect tolls on his people’s property, a 
strong effort is being made to purchase all the roads by 
the general government. A commission has already re¬ 
ported favorably upon the same. The lines of the Park, 
by the way, extend to Wawona on that road, near Hazel 
Green on the Merced-Santa Fe, and to a short distance 
beyond Crocker’s on the Oak Flat. 

The Raymond Ifaute 

The Yosemite branch of the Southern Pacific leaves 
the main line at Berenda, and runs up to Raymond, 22 
miles. Tourists usually arrive here at about 6 o’clock in 
the morning, and breakfast at the Bowen Hotel. They 
leave here an hour later, lunching at Ahwahnee, a popu¬ 
lar, pleasant resort, arriving at Wawona that evening. 
Commencing the first of May, the “Limited” leaves 
Raymond at the same hour, reaching the Yosemite that 
evening. This road has been oiled for about 30 miles, 
and the oiling will be extended to Wawona during this 
season. The oil makes the road absolutely dustless, and 
almost as smooth as Van Ness Avenue in San Francisco. 

The Raymond (Yosemite) Pullman leaves San Fran¬ 
cisco at 11 125 P. M., arriving, as noted above, at Raymond 
at about 6 o’clock. It is side-tracked at Berenda during 
latter part of the night, leaving there for Raymond at 
about 4:30 A. M. 

If the Mariposa Big Trees a;e not visited en route in, the 
trip is made upon the return to Wawona from the Valley. 
The regular returning stages leave Yosemite at 1 p. m., 
the “Limited” leaving in the morning. The distance from 
Yosemite to Raymond is 60 miles; Madera, 95 miles; 
Fresno, no miles; and Los Angeles, about 380 miles. 

Camping or other parties who have entered the Yosem¬ 
ite via one of the northern roads, and who want to reach 
Modesto or Stockton upon their return, and who desire 




Photo by D. H. VVulzen, S. F. 


INDIAN CACHES AND SENTINEL. 



80 


YOSEMITE VALLEY. 


to visit the Mariposa Big Trees, the state grove, can do 
so without losing over two days of time. They can drive 
to Wawona the first day and leave their camping outfit 
there, and then drive up to the Trees, eight miles distant. 
They can spend a full day at the Trees, or they can makie 
it in about a half day. From Wawona they go to Mari¬ 
posa, and from there to Hornitos and Snelling. From 
the latter place they can reach Modesto or Stockton. 
Should they want to get back upon the Oak Flat road, 
at Priest’s, they can go from Mariposa over to Coulter- 
ville, and from there to Priest’s. They will find much of 
interest about Mariposa, for the old Fremont Grant has 
recently passed into new hands, and there are evidences 
of the new mining life upon all sides. 

The Coulterville Road. 

You can reach this road from any point between Mer¬ 
ced and Modesto, and the distance to either of these 
places is about 95 miles. Coulterville is 45 miles from 
here, and the mining interests of that section make it an 
interesting point for strangers. Bower’s Cave, 35 miles 
from here, and the Merced Group of Big Trees of about 
50, are the chief attractions of this route. Dudley’s, 
Bower Cave, Hazel Green, and the Big Meadows, are 
places where accommodations can be had for man and 
beast. This road enters the Yosemite at the Cascades. 
Stages on this line connect with the Santa Fe at Merced. 

The Oak Flat Route. 

This can well be called the most popular northern route 
to the Yosemite. It is the route traveled by nearly all 
the visitors from the bay counties and the northern part 
of the state. It commences at Chinese Station, on the 
Sierra Railroad, about two miles from Chinese Camp. 
The latter is now only about fifty-two miles from the 
Yosemite, for a new “cut off” has recently been made, 
which shortens it some four miles. Chinese Station, Chi¬ 
nese Camp, Priest’s, Groveland, Smith’s Ranch, Hamil¬ 
ton’s, and Crocker’s are good, home-like places, where 
accommodations can be had for man or animals. 

Those who desire to visit the Calaveras Big Trees on 
the return trip go from either Groveland or Chinese 
Camp over to Sonora, and then from there to Murphy’s, 
via Parrott’s Ferry and the Natural Bridge. The grove 
is sixteen miles above Murphy’s Camp. Near the latter 
is the famous and worthy Mercer Cave. Upon the return 
trip from the Trees, a visit, can be made to the mines at 


SOUVENIR AND GUIDE. 


81 


Angels Camp. From here you can easily reach Stock- 
ton or other Valley points. If a camping party, it will 
take you at least two days and a half to reach the Treesl 
from Chinese Camp; but if you can spare the time, it will 
well repay you, for the whole country is full of interest for 
the visitor. All who have ever been over the Oak Flat 
Route will well remember the famous Priest Hill. In less 
than 3 miles, it rises nearly 1,800 feet. 

Stockton is 120 miles from Yosemite via this route. 


Take Your Choice of Route 


Parties in their own vehicles can take their choice of 
the Chinese and Big Oak Flat, Modesto and Coulterville, 
Merced and Coulterville, Merced and Mariposa via Wa- 
wona, Raymond to Wawona and Fresno, or Madera and 
Wawona. Location will suggest which to take. 

Visitors from San Jose and points south to Salinas, usu¬ 
ally come through the Pacheco Pass via Newman and 
Merced, or via Madera and Wawona. 


RAYMOND TO YOSEMITE 


“The pilgrim who approaches this mighty shrine,” 
writes Col. J. P. Irish, formerly secretary of the Yosem¬ 
ite commissioners, “like the faithful who seek Mecca, 
must endure somewhat, but the way is not barren of 
scenes that soften hardship. Approached by this justly 
popular route, the way lies by Raymond in the foot-hills, 
where the railway stops on the first “high step of the stair¬ 
way, that may be climed 10,000 feet to Clouds’ Rest, the 
loftiest of Yosemite’s summits proper. The traveler 
leaves Raymond in the comfortable coach in the early 
morn, and faces the mountain wall of the Sierras. Away 
up the range can be seen the summit of the Chowchilla 
(Mount), 5,000 or more feet above sea, that must be 
crossed ere the night’s rest and refreshment at Wawona. 
If the season be between April and July, the wayside is 
gay with flowers. Their stars and circles light all the 
slopes and levels with many-colored constellations. The 
brave crested quail pipes for its mate, and the wood¬ 
pecker, wise provider, drums tirelessly at the bark of the 


82 


YOSEMITE VALLEY. 


trees, to make storage holes for the crop of acorns which 
is to feed him and his feathered family through the com¬ 
ing year. 

“As Ahwahnee is neared for the nooning, we find the 
Mariposa lily, white, pink, and purple, and bearing on each 
petal the picture of the butterfly, the Mariposa, which has 
its habitat here. The miner has left his mark at ‘Grub 
Gulch,’ the scene of a once active mining district. 


The ‘V’ Lumber Flume 


“The first day the traveler looks over steep banks to the 
fcaming Fresno River, and sees for miles the ‘V’ flume, 
down which lumber is floated 75 miles from a sawmill far 
up in the mountains to Madera, on the line of the South¬ 
ern Pacific. During the afternoon the Miami Mills are 
passed, and the name marks the owner. Dr. Cassell, an 
Eastern man. for he imports the name of an extinct tribe. 

“In the morning the timber was small oak and ragged- 
appearing pine. But the forest has thickened; the kinds 
of trees that compose it have changed. The humble dig¬ 
ger pine and starveling white oak have given place to 
the yellow pine, plated with great scales of embossed bark, 
and to the beautiful chinquapin oak, with its viny limbs 
and abundant foliage. As the summit of the day’s climb¬ 
ing is reached, the sugar pine, greatest of that family of 
conifers, from its footing in the granite rises above all its 
companions, overtopping the forest, yielding primacy only 
to the Sequoias. 

“In the afternoon the stage passes the summit and 
plunges down the zigzags, by Fish Camp, leading to the 
night station. Night is already in the profound canyons 
while the summits are glistening in the sun. Far up the 
rugged side of its northern wall, the falls of Chilnualna 
wave like a white banner. At last Wawona is reached, 
and supper and repose. Sitting before the great fire¬ 
places of the hotel, the genial surroundings drive off 
fatigue. 


Off for the Yosemite 

“For the second day’s journey (half day only), the stage 
is taken after breakfast, and soon the climbing begins. 
The Yosemite and Wawona are both 4,000 feet above sea, 


SOUVENIR AND GUIDE. 


83 


but between them two summits must be climbed and 
crossed. One of these, Chinquapin, reaches an elevation 
of 6,500 feet. Often from the stage a doe or fawn may be 
seen gliding into covert, or an antlered buck will face 
the strange invader of his pasture, and vanish in a single 
bound. Quite often bear tracks are seen upon the road, 
and occasionally a bear. All this adds to the feeling that 
at last one is beyond and above man's artificial dominion. 

“Things otherwise trivial become noteworthy now. The 
beautiful fox-squirrel frisks and scampers to his tree, hur¬ 
ried by the delighted outcries from the stage, and the 
tiny chipmunk must wonder why he gets so loud a greet¬ 
ing as he sits upright and breakfasts on the acorn held 
between his paws. In the blue sky above, that seems so 
near and so vital now, a bald-eagle poises, or the condor 
of the Sierras floats on motionless wings, and never did 
birds seem so interesting before. 

“Far below, first 1,000, then 2,000, then 3,000 feet, the 
South Fork foams on its way to join in the main stream 
the waters that come boasting of their leap of thousands 
of feet down over the ramparts of the Yosemite. At first 
the river spoke in many voices, but these have mellowed 
into one, and it into a whisper, and now height and dis¬ 
tance have left that below, and the white stream is seen 
and not heard. The stations are reached and passed with 
change of horses. Observe it all, for on this Yosemite 
road is the greatest staging in the world.” 


CHINESE TO YOSEMITE 


From the moment you leave the cars of the Sierra Rail¬ 
road at Chinese Station, or, if in your own vehicle, Chinese 
Camp, until you begin the descent of the Yosemite grade 
at Gentry’s, and rounding a turn in the road at “Oh My!” 
and Inspiration Points, two or three days later, view the 
wonders of the great gorge below you, there is a succession 
of surprises and delights that make the trip so pleasant 
that you almost regret that this first view of Yosemite is 
also the last hour of a day long to be remembered. Chi¬ 
nese Camp is an interesting old mining camp, whose glories 
have departed forever. We tarry not long here, for there 
is much of more interest ahead of us. Within about 7 
miles is the famous Priest Hill, that rises 1,800 feet in 
3 miles, and it is hot at any time of day, if there is any 
heat in these parts. 


84 


YOSEMITE VALLEY. 


After leaving Chinese Camp, we are soon brought to 
the “Old Tuolumne” River, whose historical associations 
have endeared it to all Californians. Driving rapidly 
along its banks, we pass through Jacksonville and other 
mining camps. Within five years these now prosperous 
camps were almost entirely deserted. Now this whole 
country is teeming with life, mills and mines being seen on 
all sides. Interesting is this section to the visitor. You 
see many mines and mills in operation from the stage, 
among them being the Longfellow, Moody, Republic, Criss¬ 
cross, and Shawmut-Eagle. 

Now we are descending Moccasin Creek, famous in the 
days of gold, and next we come to the foot of the famous 
Priest Hill. The road is good, but very steep. In due 
time you reach the summit, and, if you stop at this popular 
resort, you can be sure of a good meal and pleasant recep¬ 
tion. Big Oak Flat, Groveland, and Garote, all within 
the next two or three miles, are the next points of interest. 

These towns have taken on a new lease of life dur¬ 
ing the past three years, and so are now lively mining 
towns. On all sides are mines and mills. Some few 
evidences are yet visible of the “old days,” when fortunes 
were mined out here within a few weeks. This was done 
in the days of the placer or gravel mining; now every¬ 
thing is quartz. Interesting will this part of the journey 
be to the Easterner or Californian. Smith’s Ranch, Ham¬ 
ilton’s, and Elwell’s, wayside stations, where accommoda¬ 
tions can be had for man and beast, are passed in suc¬ 
cession. The power-house and ditch of the Merced Min¬ 
ing Co., whose mines are at Coulterville, about 15 
miles away, are passed during the forenoon. Power is 
transmitted to their mines from the power-house, and is 
there used to run their mills, hoisting works, etc. Slowly 
we are ascending the west side of the great Sierran Range, 
with its magnificent forests and crystal streams. During 
most of this trip the Tuolumne River can be seen off to 
the left. As Colonel Irish well says elsewhere: “Far be¬ 
low, first 1,000, then 2,000, and then 3,000 feet, the river 
foams on its way. At first it spoke in many voices; but 
these have mellowed into one, and it into a whisper; now 
height and distance have left that far below, and the white 
stream is seen and not heard.” Wild, rugged, almost un¬ 
trodden by man, is the great sweep of the Sierras off to 
the north. A short distance this side of Crocker’s you 
come to the lines of the Yosemite National Park, and 
then within a few moments you are at Crocker’s. This 
charming spot is at an altitude of 4,500 feet above sea 
level. 


SOUVENIR AND GUIDE. 


85 


Crocker’s an Ideal Summer Resort 

This cheerful and home-like place is located twenty- 
five miles from the Yosemite, and about the same distance 
from Priest’s. There are few places in the Sierras where 
one would like to linger longer than here. Not only is 
the table well supplied, but it is also exclusively of the 
home sort so much sought for by the traveling public. 
Then, too, Mr. and Mrs. Crocker and their daughter. 
Miss Celia, have an abundance of that old-fashioned and 
genuine Californian hospitality, for which this state is 
noted. The South Fork of the Tuolumne near by fur¬ 
nishes good trout fishing. 


Points of Interest Made from here 

The other Yosemite, Hetch Hetchy Valley, in the canyon 
of the Tuolumne, is but sixteen miles to the north, and 
a good part of this can be made in a wagon, the end of 
the road being at the Hog Ranch. Though without many 
of the famous wonders of the Yosemite, this valley, too, 
is well worth a visit. Crocker’s, too, is the starting-point 
for Lake Tenaya, the Soda Springs, Tuolumne Meadows, 
and Tioga mine. 

A short distance beyond Crocker’s, you commence the 
final climb before making the descent into the Valley of 
the Yosemite. The summit is 7,500 feet above sea. Be¬ 
fore reaching this point, however, we pass the Hodgdon 
Ranch, the Tuolumne Grove of Big Trees, and Crane Flat, 
the latter once a prominent stopping-place for Yosemite 
visitors. The crest of the ridge is the division line be¬ 
tween Tuolumne and Mariposa Counties, and it is also 
the watershed dividing the Merced and Tuolumne Rivers. 


“King of the Big Trees” 


One branch of the ‘‘Double Loop” of the Merced-Santa 
Fe route joins the Big Oak Flat road, near the grove, and 
runs over it to Yosemite. The road passes through the 
“Dead Giant” of this grove. This once great tree, com¬ 
monly called “King of the Big Trees,” is yet a monster, 
though but a charred stump now remains. Stump though 


86 


YOSEMITE VALLEY. 


it is, it has still a diameter of 31 feet, and is well preserved. 
This tunnel has the honor of being the first ever cut 
through a Sequoia. There are a number of similar trees 
in this grove, and they are magnificent specimens of the 
Sequoia gigantea. In a short time we will have reached 
the highest summit of the trip, 7,500 feet above sea level, 
and then down, down, down toward the canyon of the 
Merced, we will be safely and rapidly driven. You now 
know that you are approaching the end of a day that will 
long live in memory. You know, too, that the one place 
you have so often dreamed of, so many times desired to 
see, is now about to be spread out before your eyes. 
Tired? No doubt. But the driver refreshes you by say¬ 
ing, “We will soon be there.” Gentry’s is reached, and 
the final descent into the Yosemite is commenced. Turn 
after turn is quickly made, when suddenly, and without 
any previous warning, you are driven around the last turn, 
and you are at 

“Oh, My!” and Inspiration Points 

Well have these been so named. Below is the “River 
of Mercy,” the Merced, a mere streak of silver; to the 
right is the Bridal Veil, now more beautiful than ever in 
the deepening shadows of the approaching twilight; while 
to the left is that most wonderful of all granite columns, 
grim old El Capitan, 3,300 feet above the Merced, along 
whose sharply-cut southern face the evening shadows are 
nearly a mile long. This side is absolutely barren of all 
vegetation, and it leans, too, toward you 60 or more feet 
beyond the perpendicular. In the distance, and to the 
right, we catch a glimpse of the “Watch-tower of the 
Yosemite,” the Sentinel, while 8 miles to the east we 
plainly see the great Half Dome, now bright and glisten¬ 
ing while bathed in the departing rays of the afternoon 
sun. Within an hour you will have reached the end of 
your day’s sightseeing. Amid the roaring of the Falls 
of the Valley and the gentle rippling of the Merced, you 
will pass your first night amid wonders the like of which 
are not found elsewhere upon earth. 


DEAD GIANT, TUOLUMNE GROVE, (Big Oak Flat Route) 
On Double Loop of Merced-Santa Fe Route. 



7 





88 


YOSEMITE VALLEY. 


MERCED-SANTA FE ROUTE TO YOSEMITE 

In making a pleasure trip one of the important consider¬ 
ations is the route—the points of interest along the way as 
well as the advantages for your comfort. 

The Merced-Santa Fe route takes you through a country, 
every mile of which presents some point of interest, and it 
offers you the additional advantage of entering the Yosemite 
by one road and leaving it by another. Thi-> loop, known 
as the “Double-loop/’ runs into the Yosemite from Hazel 
Green over the “Big Oak Flat Road,” via the Tuolumne 
Big Trees, and returns over the “Coulterville Road,” via 
Cascade Falls, the beautiiul Merced Canyon, and the Merced 
Big Trees. 

The Start 

The north and south bound trains of the Santa Fe arrive 
at Merced in time for lunch at the Harvey House, a few rods 
from the station. Lunch over, you may step over to the 
cozy little bark cabin office of the Yosemite Transportation 
Company and look at the curios on exhibition until the 
stage is ready, when in you go, the whip cracks, and you 
are off for Yosemite and the Big Trees. 

The San Joaquin Valley 

The first eighteen miles of the drive are through the level 
of the San Joaquin, and one will see there the same scenes 
which inspired the late Frank Norris to write his famous story 
of California life—“The Octopus,” for this is *he center of 
the great wheat-raising district of the San Joaquin. 

You pass through the great 60 000 acre ranch of the 
Crocker estate, and can compare the methods ol farming 
this enormous Holding with those used by the owners of the 
ten to forty acre ranches which dot ffie landscape beyond. 
Crossing the placid Merced, of which you will see more 
later, the road enters the foothills, and a short ride brings 
you to Webb’s, where supper is awaiting the arrival of the 
stage. 

The Foothills 

After supper the journey is resumed and each turn of the 
road rises higher and higher above the valley you have left 
behind. Below you the swiftly flowing Merced rushes 
through its rocky channel. If those rocks could speak they 
, could tell you of the fierce rush of 


SOUVENIR AND GUIDE. 


80 


“The days of old, 

The days of gold, 

The days of ’49,” 

for the peaceful little valley below you which now furnishes 
grazing for a cow herd, was once the scene of the wildest 
excitement, and thousands of eager miners elbowed each 
other as they washed the rich placer gold from its soil; then 
came the Chinese, satisfied to do the work over again for 
the few flakes and nuggets overlooked by the white miners. 
The placer gold is gone now and a few miles further we 
drop into the old mining camp of Bandinta, now the inter¬ 
esting little mountain village of Coulterville, which owesits 
prosperity to the quartz mines in the vicinity. Coulterville 
was settled in 1852, and is, therefore, one of the oldest towns 
in California. 

The .Mines of Coulterville 

After a good night’s rest in the modern hotel, built last 
year for the accommodation of increasing Yosemite travel, 
the early riser will take a walk to the top of the neighboring 
hill to see the miners and the crooked little railroad which 
carries the ore from the mine to the smelter down the 
canyon. This railroad has a gauge of two feet, is three and 
one-half miles in length, and is claimed to be the crookedest 
railroad on earth. The largest mine is the Mary Harrison, 
whose shaft is 1,200 feet deep, and whose product keeps a 
100-stamp mill at work day and night. 

Bower Cave 

After breakfast the journey is resumed and a few hours’ 
ride brings you to the edge of the “Great Sierra Forest.” 
At nine o’clock you arrive at Bower Cave, and you must not 
miss visiting this interesting spot. Imagine a great cleft in 
the earth’s crust, a hill torn open and the gap unfulled, and 
you can imagine the peculiar freak of nature’s fancy which 
made Bower Cave. But nature has made beautiful this 
gash in her landscape, for at the bottom of this pit is a pool 
of crystal water, reflecting, like a mirror, the delicate tracery 
of the ferns which nod above it. Several trees have grown 
heavenward for a longer period than the lifetime of you or 
me, in a vain effort to peep out and see what the world is 
doing. Their trunks and branches are completely covered 
by the beautiful green moss which has overgrown even the 
platform at the bottom of the cave, and makes the whole 
place look like an entrance to Fairyland. Returning from 
this little jaunt you will find the stage waiting, with a new 


90 


YOSEMITE VALLEY. 


team in the harness, and continue your way through the 
immense forests of gigantic trees to Hazel Green, where, to 
the soft music of the sighing pines, dinner is eaten. 

Double Loop 

Hazel Green is at the end of the long loop of the ‘ ‘ Double 
Loop,” for here is where the ways part. Less than an 
hour’s ride brings you to the Tuolumne Big Trees and the 
road passes through the “ Dead Giant.” After viewing the 
Big Trees you pass on towards the Valley and suddenly, 
witnout warning, a panorama bursts before you, of such 
magnificence that the wonder of it all leaves you speechless 
except for the involuntary exclamation, Oh, my! which is the 
name of the point. This panorama view of the valley shares 
with the view from the top of the Coulterville grade, which 
is on the other side of the “Loop,” the fame of being one 
of the grandest mountain views in the world. 

The Valley 

The descent into the Valley is rapid from here, and El 
Capitan, 3,300 feet high, seems to block the way as we near 
the foot of the grade, but the road swerves to the right and 
dodges the base of this great giant block of granite, and 
you cross the river and soon pause to wonder at the delicate 
rainbow playing in the mist of the Bridal Veil Falls, The 
rainbow effect is the prettiest at about five o’clock, the time 
of the passing of the stage. On up the valley you wend 
your way past the “Three Brothers, Cathedral Rock and 
Spires, Sentinel Rock, Eagle Peak, and Yosemite Falls, 
and at last reach your destination in one of the camps or the 
hotel, which command a view of Glacier Point, Half Dome, 
Washington Column, and numerous less famous points. 

The Other Side of the "Double Loop 

Notwithstanding the fact that you will have seen Yosemite 
when you start on your return trip, nevertheless there is a 
treat in store for you, for it is the beauty of the ride down 
the Valley to the Cascades and up the Coulterville grade 
through the beautiful Merced Canyon, which will make you 
remember Yosemite as the most wonderful of nature’s 
wonderlands. This road takes you down the full length of 
the Valley and into Merced Canyon and past the Cascade 
Falls, one of the six great waterfalls of the Yosemite. 
These falls are reached only by this line, as on other lines a 
side trip is necessary. As you ascend the Coulterville grade, 


SOUVENIR AND GUIDE. 


91 


the beauty of the sight which here meets your view as you 
glance behind fairly stuns one. The rugged crags, the 
massive domes of granite, and the rushing, teatlng torrent 
of the Merced below, is a sight never to be forgo/ten. The 
ascent of the grade unfolds a picture bewildering in its 
beauty, sublime in its grandeur, and ever changing in its 
composition. 

One parting glance and a turn in the road hides the view, 
and a short ride brings one to the Merced group of Big 
Trees, which while not as large as some, is said to contain 
some of the finest individual specimens to be found. The 
Big Trees examined, a half hour’s ride brings you to Hazel 
Green again. 

Back Again 

Lunch over your forest ride is resumed and dinner time 
finds you again in Coulterville. A night's rest and a delight¬ 
ful morning ride lands you in Merced in time for lunch and 
the noon train for the north or south This ends one of the 
most delightful stage rides in the world. 



BIG TREES, MERCED GROVE. (Merced-Santa Fe Route.) 





02 


VOSEMil'E VALLEY. 


SCENIC WONDERS OF WAWONA 


Within a radius of io miles about Wawona are to be 
found more interesting, varied, and inspiring scenic at¬ 
tractions than in any similar compass the world over. 
Eight miles to the southeast is the great Mariposa Big 
Tree Grove, in which are many of the largest trees in the 
world. This is the state’s grove, and is managed by the 
Yosemite commissioners. Nothing more delightful and 
inspiring can be imagined than a picnic jaunt to these 
wonders. Eight miles westward Signal Peak looms up 
like a grim sentinel, guarding this peaceful nook. Five 
miles off to the northeast are the Chilnualna Falls, that 
would be famous wonders any other place than in this 
land of big things, while off in the same direction is beau¬ 
tiful Crescent Lake, only 12 miles away, and alive with 
trout. There is also good fishing in the South Fork of 
the Merced, which flows within a stone’s throw of the 
hotel. 

A good road and trail enable the visitors to reach the 
Chilnualna Falls, so that they can enjoy their 300 feet of 
descent and the sparkling, roaring, foaming cascades be¬ 
low. Rev. John Hannon says that “Capitol Dome, a 
towering mass of granite, takes the Chilnualna in its 
hands, and with its rocky fingers is giving out from its 
cascades a music of magnificence and beauty nowhere 
else to be found.” 

“Wawona” is the Indian name for big tree, and it takes 
its name from the Mariposa Grove near by. In early 
days it was known as Clark’s, or the Big Tree Station. 
At one time it was owned by Mr. Galen Clark, formerly 
guardian of the Yosemite, whose home is now there. 
Wawona is about 26 miles from the Yosemite and 40 from 
Raymond, the nearest railroad point, the present terminus 
of the Yosemite branch of the Southern Pacific. It is 
4,000 feet above sea-level. Here are the headquarters of 
the Yosemite Stage and Turnpike Co., the largest and 
most complete now on this coast. To give the visitor 
some idea of what it costs to operate this stage line, we 
will mention just one item of expense, and that is, that it 
takes about 500 horses to stock this road for the season 
of travel. To get the roads in good condition usually 
means an outlay of from $3,000 to $5,000. During a year 




















94 


VOSEMITE VALLEY. 


when much snow has fallen, it has frequently to be shov¬ 
eled out of the entire road between here and the Yosemite. 
Big drifts of it are sometimes blown out by blasts of black 
gunpowder. 

The Washburn Bros, not only know how to please their 
patrons, but they also do it. No wonder, then, that Wa- 
wona is yearly becoming more popular. An electric road 
from Raymond is all that is now necessary to make this 
one of the greatest resorts of the world. Such a road 
will, no doubt, be built at an early date. 



Photo by Taber , S. F 

W A WON A AND THE RIVER. 


Signal Peak 

Signal Peak is one of the many interesting points of 
view in and around Wawona. It has an altitude of 7,500 
feet above the sea. There is a good wagon road completed 
to within a few rods of its summit. Signal Peak stands 
out alone, above all its surroundings. Seemingly it was 
put there to guard the beautiful glen below, and so near 


SOUVENIR AND GUIDE. 


95 


by, Wawona. From its summit, the view is almost as 
complete as in mid-ocean. The radius of this great circle 
is about 200 miles, so that over 1,200 square miles are to 
be seen from here, and there is not an uninteresting square 
mile in this vast area. There is no other point on this 
western coast where one can see so much territory at once 
as from here. “The rugged, snow-clad peaks of the High 
Sierras, the towering walls of the Yosemite, the heavily- 
timbered slopes of the nearer mountains, the vast val¬ 
ley of the San Joaquin, and the far-off summits of the 
Coast Range melting away in the distance, all com¬ 
bine to form an entrancing panorama, which will never 
be effaced from the memory of any true lover of nature 
who has once gazed upon it.’ 3 So wrote a visitor in the 
hotel register at Wawona some years ago. He put it in 
the same class as the Yosemite and the Big Trees—more 
can not be said. 

An attraction second only to Signal Peak is Wawona 
Point. This can be visited during the visit to the Big 
Tree Grove, time permitting. A wagon road runs to its 
summit, and from the latter you can look down upon the 
Wawona Meadow, nearly 3,000 feet below, surrounded by 
the great domes and crags of the Sierras. 

If Wawona had no other attraction than Hill’s Studio, 
that alone would amply repay a visit. The incoming vis¬ 
itor can here view the Yosemite on canvas, as natural as 
that gifted artist can make it. Here, too, the returning 
tourist can take a farewell view' of the Yosemite. The 
studio is open every evening, and visitors are always wel¬ 
come to call. Mr. Hill is a pleasant gentleman, a true 
artist. Hung on the walls are the skins of about all ani¬ 
mals of the Sierras, including the skin of a monster grizzly 
that weighed 1,700 pounds. It was the largest grizzly ever 
killed in the Sierras, and so fierce and dangerous was this 
monster that the old hunter who shot him was afraid to 
meet him upon the level, and so he built a small “look¬ 
out” in the forks of a tree, and there awaited the coming 
of the bear; and so this magnificent animal was killed. It 
was hardly a fair fight for the bear; but Jim Duncan knew 
w'hat he was doing. Here, too, are a vast variety of In¬ 
dian war implements. 

The fish hatchery is located wdthin a short distance of 
Wawona, and it is well worth a short visit. It is in charge 
of the fish commissioners, and from here many of the 
lakes and streams of the mountains are well stocked. 

During each season, a troop of cavalry are located at 
Camp Wood, situated on the river-side a mile below the 



CHILNUALNA FALLS, 


W A WON A. 


Height, 300 feet 










SOUVENIR AND GUIDE. 


() 


hotel, on the opposite side. These soldiers patrol the 
Yosemite National Park, the southern line of which is be¬ 
tween the bridge and the hotel. Here all camping parties 
have to leave their guns, for shooting is not allowed in 
the Park. Camp Wood, too, can well be included in the 
many attractions of Wawona. 

Wawona has a good public hall, in which socials are 
held during the season at least twice a week. Here, in 
September of ’89, that peerless and matchless orator, 
William Jennings Bryan, spoke two hours to his fellow- 
citizens. 

THE BIG TREES OF THE SIERRAS 

(Sequoia Gigantea) 

Few men love and have studied these great trees as has 
John Muir. He has lived among them and slept under 
their friendly shelter during many a year. He has fear¬ 
lessly defended them against the avarice of the lumber 
barons and the forest speculators. “Between the heavy 
pine and silver fir belts,” writes Mr. Muir, “we find the 
Big Trees, the king of all the conifers of the world, ‘the 
noblest of a noble race.’ It extends in a widely-interrupted 
belt from a small grove on the American River, north of 
the Calaveras Grove, south to the head of Deer Creek, 
a distance of about 260 miles, the latter being about 150 
miles south of the Mariposa Grove. [We believe that 
only the stumps now remain of the half dozen trees of the 
American River Grove, which is located about 75 miles 
northeast of Sacramento.—Ed.] The elevation of the belt 
is from 5,000 to 8,000 feet above sea. From the American 
River Grove to the forest on King’s River, the species 
only occur in small, isolated groups, in some cases as 
much as 40 miles apart. But from King’s River south¬ 
ward, the Sequoia is not restricted to mere groves, but 
extends across the basins of the Kaweah and Tule Rivers 
in noble forests, broken only by deep canyons. Advanc¬ 
ing southward, the giants become more and more irre¬ 
pressibly exuberant, heaving their massive crowns into the 
sky from every ridge and slope. But though the area 
occupied by the species increases from north to south, 
there is no marked increase in the size of the trees. A 
height of 275 feet and a diameter near the ground of about 
29 feet, is about the average size of a full-grown tree fa¬ 
vorably situated. Specimens 25 feet in diameter are not 


98 


YOSEMtTE VALLEY. 


rare, and a few are nearly 300 feet high. In the Calaveras 
Grove there are 4 trees over 300 feet in height, the tallest 
of which, by careful measurement, is 325 feet. The larg¬ 
est I have yet met in my wanderings is a majestic old 
monument in the Kings River forest. It is 35 feet 8 
inches in diameter inside the bark 4 feet from the ground. 

No Natural Death Here 

‘“Under the most favorable conditions, these giants 
probably live 5,000 years or more, though few of even the 
largest trees are more than half as old. I never saw a Big 
Tree that had died a natural death; barring accidents, they 
seem to be immortal, being exempt from all the diseases 
that afflict and kill other trees. Unless destroyed by man, 
they live on indefinitely until burned, smashed by light¬ 
ning, cast down by storms, or by the giving way of the 
ground upon which they stand. The age of one that was 
felled in the Calaveras Grove, for the sake of having its 
stump for a dancing-floor, was about 1,300 years, and its 
diameter, measured across the stump, 24 feet inside the 
bark. Another that was felled in the King’s River forest, 
a section of which was shipped to the World’s Fair at 
Chicago, was nearly 1,000 years older (2,200 years), though 
not a very old-looking tree. The colossal scarred monu¬ 
ment in the King’s River forest, mentioned above, is 
burned half through, and I spent a day in making an es¬ 
timate of its age, clearing away the charred surface with 
an jax, and carefully counting the annual rings with the 
aid of a pocket lens. The wood rings in the section I laid 
bare were so involved and contorted in some places that 
I was not able to determine its age exactly, but I counted 
over 4,000 rings, which showed that this tree was in its 
prime, swaying in the Sierran winds, when Christ walked 
the earth.” 

Mr. Muir believes that the seed of the Sequoia found 
lodgment upon the high and warmer parts of the range 
during the latter years of the glacial period, while the great 
basins and gorges were yet filled with ice. As to whence 
they came, and why, our space will not permit us to quote 
further from Mr. Muir. If interested, call at our place of 
business, “Tourist” Office-Studio, and read his work. 

Why They Have Been Named Sequoia 

Professor Whitney says: “This genus was named in 
honor of Sequoia, or Sequoyah, a Cherokee Indian of 



Pliolu by Taber , .S'. T. 

THE GRIZZLY GIANT, MARIPOSA GROVE. (Raymond Route.) 
(285 feet in height and 31 feet in diameter.) 





100 


VOSEMITE VALLEY. 


mixed blood, better known by his English name of George 
Guess. It was so named by Endlicher, a learned botanist 
of that time, the early ’5o’s. The Indian was born about 
j/70, in the northeast corner of Alabama, among the 
Cherokees. He became known to the world by his in¬ 
vention of an alphabet and a written language for his 
tribe. He died in New Mexico, in 1843. His remarkable 
alphabet is still in use, but destined to pass away with his 
nation, but not into oblivion; for his name, attached to 
one of the grandest and most impressive productions of 
the vegetable kingdom, will forever keep his memory 
green.” These facts were furnished Professor Whitney by 
Professor Brewer. 

Fence Posts Made Out of Chips 

The Fresno Grove, located about 6 miles south of the 
Mariposa Grove, is private property. For many years 
the trees of this Grove have been cut down and sawed up 
into lumber. Large shipments of the wood have been 
sent to Germany, to be used in the lead-pencil business. 
From many trees in this Grove as much as 150,000 feet of 
lumber have been cut. This lumber is worth at least $10 
per thousand at the mill, and so we have one tree worth 
$1,500. No wonder the lumbermen are ever opposed to 
the preservation of these primitive forests. To fell a tree 
that is 25 or more feet in diameter is no little job. The 
tree cut down in the Calaveras Grove in the early ’5o’s 
required 5 men, with pump augers, 21 days to fell it. But 
they do things better now. In the Fresno Grove, when 
a monster Sequoia is to be cut down, they build a scaf- 
lold about 10 feet high. Upon this a crew of choppers are 
put to work, and on the ground another crew, too, is at 
work. When they have cut into the tree about 2 feet, a 
hole is then bored into the “chip,” so to speak, a good 
blast of black powder is put in, and the “chip” is blown 
off. These “chips” are then split into fence posts. When 
the “chips,” as the center of the tree is reached, become 
too short for posts, they can be sent to the shingle mill. 

A Description of the Sequoia 

The wood is soft, light, elastic, straight-grained, and 
looks like cedar. The bark is deeply corrugated longi¬ 
tudinally, and so spongy as to be used for pincushions. 
The branches seldom appear below 100 feet from the 


SOUVENIR AND GUIDE. 


101 


ground, and shoot out in every direction from the trunk. 
The leaves are of two kinds—those of the younger trees 
and the lower limbs of the larger, set in pairs opposite 
each other on little stems, and those growing on branches 
which have flowered, triangular in shape, and lying close 
down to the stems. The cones are remarkable for their 
diminutive size, being not as large as a hen’s egg. The 
seeds are short, and thin as paper. The magnificent pro¬ 
portions of the trees, and the awful solitude of the forest, 
give an almost sublime grandeur to this part of the 
Sierras. 


They Grow Elsewhere 

Just why the Sequoia has only been found in so limited 
a territory, and always at an elevation of about 7,000 feet, 
is a mystery. Seed was first sent to the eastern states and 
Europe in 1853. The seeds germinate readily, and many 
thousands of the trees are growing in different parts of 
the world from seed planted. They grow rapidly. The 
climate of England is well suited for their rapid growth. 
Says J. M. Hutchings, “At the country seat of the Earl 
of Devon, at Powderham Castle, near Exeter, England, 
there is one specimen that exceeds 60 feet in height and 
10 feet in girth, at 3 feet from the ground; and that growth 
has been attained in less than one-third of a century.” 


Developing, Printing, Enlarging, at city rates, at “Tourist’’ 
Studio (Foley’s). 




102 


YOSEMITE VALLEY. 


MARIPOSA GROVE OF BIG TREES 

This Is the State Park—When and by Whom Discovered 


To Mr. Galen Clark, for many years the faithful guard¬ 
ian of Yosemite, whose home is here, and Milt. Mann, 
now deceased, belongs the discovery of this famous Grove 
of Sequoias. On Saturday, March 23, of 1901, Mr. Clark, 
by our request of the previous Thursday, handed us the 
following account of the discovery of this Grove and the 
part he took in same. Mr. Clark had called at our 
then San Francisco office, the “Pacific Photo Journal/’ 
916 Market Street, as noted above, on the previous Thurs¬ 
day, and it was then that we requested him to tell us his 
story of the discovery. Here is the article in full:— 

“In 1855 1 was engaged as an assistant on the survey 
of a water ditch to take water from the South Fork of the 
Merced River [Wawona is on the South Fork of this 
river] around onto the Mariposa Fremont Grant. A 
hunter by the name of R. H. Ogg was employed to hunt 
and keep the camp supplied with fresh venison for meat. 
On one of his return trips from a hunt on the waters of 
the South Fork of the Merced, he reported that he had 
seen three large trees, of a different character from any 
others in the forest, the largest one measuring over 90 
feet in circumference at the ground, and he thought they 
must be of the same species as the Calaveras Big Trees, 
which had been discovered three years previous. In 
April, 1857, I built a log cabin, and settled on the South 
Fork of the Merced River, where the Wawona Hotel is 
now located, and spent considerable time in hunting and 
exploring in the mountain forests, being always on the 
lookout for the three large trees reported by Mr. Ogg, 
who was then dead. In the latter part of the next month, 
May, in company with Milton Mann, on a hunting trip, 
we discovered what is now known as the Upper Grove of 
the Mariposa Big Trees, and a few days later I was in the 
lower portion of the Grove, and, as they were in Mar¬ 
iposa County, I named them the Mariposa Grove of Big 
Trees. Some months later I found the three trees de¬ 
scribed by Mr. Ogg, in a gulch about three-fourths of a 
mile southeast of the cabin now in the Grove, a half of 


SOUVENIR AND GUIDE. 


103 


a mile distant from other trees of the same kind. In 1864 
the largest one of the three trees was so badly burned by 
fire that it was blown down, and but little of it now re¬ 
mains. 

“When talking to the Indians about the Big Trees, their 
name for which is Wah-wo-nah. they told me that they 
knew where there were trees still larger; and in the fall 
of 1857 I got an Indian to go with me to where they were; 
but, upon measuring the largest one, I did not find any 
quite as large as the largest in the Mariposa Grove. As 
they w r ere located in what was then a part of Fresno 
County, I named them the Fresno Grove of Big Trees. 
That county has recently been divided, and so now they 
are in Madera County. If either of these two Groves 
had ever been seen by white men before their discovery 
in 1857, they had never made such discovery known to 
the public.” 

During one of his trips up to the trees, he found a well- 
equipped miners’ camp not far from one of the Groves. 
Everything about it indicated that they had left it hur¬ 
riedly Whether they had been scared off by some strag¬ 
gling Indians, or whether their stock had strayed off and 
they had followed them, losing themselves in the then 
wild mountains, are questions that Mr. Clark has never 
solved. 

This Grove is located about 8 miles from Wawona. As 
noted above, it is under the control of the Yosemite com¬ 
missioners, it being ceded to this state by Congress at 
the same time and in the same act as the Yosemite. A 
keeper or guardian represents the guardian of the Yosem¬ 
ite at the Grove every season. 

The grant is four miles square, containing the Lower 
and the Upper Groves. They are one mile apart. The 
road from Wawona up to the westerly line of the Grove 
is owned by the Wawona Hotel and Stage Co., the part 
within the Grove being owned and cared for by the Yo¬ 
semite Commissioners. 

The Lower Grove 

You first come to the King of the Forest, the “Grizzly 
Giant.” At the ground it takes 93 feet and 7 inches to en¬ 
circle him. Around this mighty monarch 22 people may 
encompass him, and 18 horses, standing head to tail, can 
stand around his base. Six horsemen, it is claimed, can 
ride around this tree, equally distant apart, and not be in 
sight of each other. The first limbs are over 100 feet 

8 



MR. GALEN CLARK. 


Mr. Clark discovered the Mariposa Grove of Big Trees (see page 102). 
He was for many years the guardian of the Yosemite, and his home is amid 
the wonders he cared for so well and loves as few men do. 





SOUVENIR AND GUIDE. 


105 


from the ground, and they are about 6 feet in diameter, 
pretty good trees in themselves. This remarkable tree 
is 285 feet in height. There are a few trees in the Cala¬ 
veras and other groves that are higher than this, but 
they do not present the imposing, awe-inspiring appear¬ 
ance that it does. 

“Lift Your Hat to Him” 

“Here is the ‘Grizzly Giant/ ” writes Col. J. P. Irish, 
“which, height and girth together considered, is the 
largest tree known on the globe. Lift your hat to him. 
He was here when Joseph was cast into the pit. Birds 
were nestling in his crown when the Greeks were as naked 
savages as Tenaya and his band of Yosemites. His 
mighty arms were lifted in warfare with the winds that 
long day when Joshua smote at Ajalon. He is the oldest 
vegetable citizen in the world.” 

John Muir says that the ‘‘Grizzly Giant” appears to be 
the only Sequoia that has reached the zenith of its growth, 
lie seems to think that it is really growing old, as such 
trees are measured in years. Mr. Muir also declares that 
all Sequoia trees have, at some time or other, been struck 
by lightning. This may account for the stunted appear¬ 
ance of the tops of this species. 

In i860 Mr. Clark counted the trees in this Grove, and 
found there were 241, not counting the young ones, 
many of which are now fifteen or twenty inches in diam¬ 
eter. Since then five of them have fallen, leaving 236. 
Here, too, is the “California,” through which a tunnel 
has recently been cut, so that wagons can now drive 
through same. 

The Upper Grove 

About one mile up the ridge is located the Upper 
Grove, and it is the principal one, too. “I counted the 
trees in this Grove,” said Mr. Clark, “at the same time 
that I counted those in the Lower Grove, and I found 
there were just 365 of them. Since then three of those 
have fallen. I did not count the little trees, many of 
which are now from fifteen to twenty inches in diame¬ 
ter.” Here is the cabin of the keeper. Here, too, 
is a pavilion built by the Commissioners during the 
season of 1901. It is here that one is impressed with the 
giants to be seen on all sides. Surrounded by these vet¬ 
erans of centuries, you feel their sublime vastness. 


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SOUVENIR AND GUIDE. 


107 


Off to the right are the “Four Guardsmen,” well 
named. We have just passed a magnificent tree, the 
“Pillar of the Temple,” towering nearly 300 feet above 
our feet. To our left is a remarkable group of giants, 
“Lincoln,” 26 feet, “Washington,” 29 feet, and between 
them is “William McKinley,” about 28 feet, named in 
honor of the martyred President of the United States. 
This latter tree is estimated to be nearly 3,000 years old. 
and it is hoped that in the centuries to come it may still 
be standing there between Washington and Lincoln. 
Then there is “General Grant,” 28 feet, and “Ohio,” 30 
feet in diameter, all nearly 300 feet in height. In the rear 
is seen the tall, slender shaft of “Felicie,” the tallest 
measured tree in the Grove, 334 feet in height. ^ Then 
there is “Boston,” “New York,” “Massachusetts,” “Co¬ 
lumbus,” the tunnel-tree “Wawona,” 28 feet through and 
nearly 300 feet high. . , 

Nearly all the states are represented in the Grove; at least 
all of them can be if some of their citizens so will it. The 
commissioners have a standing rule never to refuse the 
citizens of any state the right to name one of the trees of 
the Grove for their state. 

Sarah Anthony has a tree named in her honor. The 
“Fallen Monarch” at the cabin is one of the wonders of 
the Grove. So, too, is the living “Telescope Tree,” in the 
upper part of the Grove. The inside of this great tree has 
been almost entirely burned and hollowed out by the fires 
of other times, so that you can look upwards a distance of 
200 feet and almost see stars at midday. Then there are 
“Dana,” “Harvard,” “Lafayette,” “Whittier,” Longfel¬ 
low” “Dewey,” “Keystone,” the “Diamond Group,’ all 
beautiful and shapely giants. The tunnel through the 
“Wawona” is 10 feet square. 

Professor Whitney measured the height ot many trees 
of this group and found they averaged 230 feet. 

Amid the Sequoias at Twilight 

BY A. B. WHITEHALL 

Although it was then June, the eternal snows of the 
mountains were everywhere around us, and, on the huge 
banks and drifts stretched away off in the distance, the 
melting power of heat and the elements was on every 
side defied. Not a weed or blade of grass relieved the 
monotonv of the view; not the chirping of an insect or the 
twittering of a bird was heard. There were Sequoias on 
every side almost twice as high as the Falls of Niagara; 


Photo bv Fmke, Yosemite. 

BIG TREE WAWONA, MARIPOSA GROVE. 



Living tree, 27 feet through, nearly 200 feet high. Tunnel is about tei. 
feet square. (On the Raymond Route.) 











Souvenir and guide. iOft 

there were pines rivaling the dome of the Capitol at Wash¬ 
ington; there were cedars to whose tops the monument 
of Bunker Hill would not have reached. There were 
trees which were old before Charlemagne was born; there 
were others still growing when the Saviour Himself was 
on earth. There were others which would endure long 
after countless generations of the future would be num¬ 
bered with the past. There were trees crooked and short 
and massive; there were others straight and tall and slen¬ 
der. There were pines whose limbs were as evenly pro¬ 
portioned as those of the Apollo Belvedere; there were ce¬ 
dars whose beauty was not surpassed in their counterparts 
in Lebanon. It was a picture in nature which captivated 
the sense at once by its grandeur and extent. As we drove 
back to Wawona, through six miles of the forest luxuri¬ 
ance, with the darkness falling about us like a black cur¬ 
tain from the heavens, and the mighiy canyons of the 
Sierra sinking away from our pathway like the opening to 
another world, then it was not power, but majesty, not 
beauty, but sublimity, not the natural, but the supernatural, 
which seemed above us and before us. 

Their Great Age 

“When the surveyor ran the lines of this Grove again a 
few years ago,” writes Colonel Irish, '‘he found the pine 
trees that had been blazed by the first surveyor, 26 years 
before. Into the side of one he chipped, and found under 
the growth of new wood the original marks ‘XII’ that had 
been cut by his predecessor. Counting the rings in the 
superimposed wood, they numbered 26, faithfully tallying 
each year since the original gash was cut. 

“Taking the same sort of record to be trusty in the Big 
Trees, it proves in the case of fallen members of the fam¬ 
ily, that now lie prone, that they had stood over 5,000 
years. 5 ’ 

The Calaveras Grove 

The Calaveras, like its sister Grove, the Mariposa, was 
discovered, too, by a hunter, Mr. A. T. Dowd. He, too, 
was keeping a ditch crew working for the Union Water 
Co., in venison. When he first recorded his find, the men 
at the ditch camp laughed at him. Returning one day, 
he told them that he had killed so much game that he 
could not bring it to camp. He asked for help. Some of 
the men went with him. It was not game that he wanted 








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SOUVENIR and guide. 


Ill 


them for, but to see the monster trees. This was the 
first Grove discovered, May, 1852. This is a noble, mag¬ 
nificent Grove of Sequoias of between 90 and 100 trees, 
that measure from 70 to 93 feet in diameter, 4 of which are 
from 300 to 325 feet in height. These figures are from 
Professor Whitney. The “Keystone State” has the honor 
of being the highest. Mr. Hutchings claims that the 
highest in this Grove is 365 feet. As the trees of this 
Grove are close to each other, the effect upon the visitor 
is much better than when scattered about. There is a 
good hotel at the Grove open during the season. There 
are good camping spots near by. This Grove has been 
owned by the Sperry family for years. It is now, however, 
the property of a lumber company of Michigan, of which a 
Mr. Whiteside is the controlling factor. Strong efforts 
have been put forth by the California Club, of San Fran¬ 
cisco, and other influential societies, as well as individuals, 
to have Congress buy this Grove and hold it forever for 
the public. The Grove is about 60 miles north of the 
Yosemite, as the crow flies, but about 100 miles via the 
wagon road. If you desire to visit these trees upon your 
return trip, you will have to go to Sonora, and from there 
up to the Grove via Columbia, Parrott’s Ferry, and 
Murphy’s. The Grove is about 35 miles from Sonora, at 
an altitude of 7,^00 feet. 


The Redwoods, or Big Trees of the Coast 


The magnificent groves of Big Trees found along the 
coast of California, from Monterey County up to the 
Oregon line, are known as the Sequoia sempervirens, or 
redwood. They are cousins of the Sierran Groves. In 
Mendocino and Humboldt Counties, north of San Fran¬ 
cisco, they form continuous forests in stretches of many 
miles. At the Oregon state line the redwood groves 
come down to the ocean. They are a coast tree, and 
thrive best in the heavy fogs of Humboldt and Del Norte 
Counties. They seem to be found only uoon the meta- 
morphic sandstone. One of the trees in the Santa Cruz 
Grove is 50 feet in circumference at its base, and 275 feet 
high. The wood of the redwood and its bark, too, are 
much heavier and harder than that of the Sequoias of the 
mountains. 


112 


YOSEMITE VALLEY. 


A Heritage of Mankind. 

When the biggest tree known to exist in the world 
was discovered in the mountains of Fresno County, Cal., 
the other day, the despatches announced that it would 
not be cut down because it was just inside a government 
reservation. The implication was that, if it had been just 
outside, it would have gone to the lumber mill, or, rather, 
a lumber mill would have gone to it. 

Consider for a moment the full atrocity of such a crime. 
That tree is 350 feet high, and 51 feet in diameter 6 feet 
above the ground. It would have dwarfed the fallen 
Campanile of Venice both in height and in bulk, and when 
the Venetian bell-tower first looked out upon the Adriatic, 
a thousand years ago, the Sierran giant was already a 
hoary patriarch. It was a contemporary of the trees that 
masked the crater of Vesuvius before the pent-up fires 
burst forth upon Pompeii. It was flourishing in maturity 
when Pericles watched the building of the Parthenon, and 
it was a brother to the cedars of Lebanon that Hiram’s 
workmen wrought into the Temple of Solomon. But to 
a part of our advanced civilization its chief distinction 
is that it could be sawed into lumber enough to load 5 
freight trains of fifty cars each. 

The Campanile of Venice can be rebuilt, but a gardener 
who wished to duplicate a tree like that in California would 
have to sit up five thousand years to do it. Happily that 
particular tree is safe, but many others, hardly less 
majestic, have already been sacrificed to the doctrine that 
“a man may do what he likes with his own.” Is it not 
about time to set some limits to that doctrine, when doing 
what one likes with one’s own means inflicting irreparable 
loss upon mankind?— Thrice-a-Week World, 1892. 


KODAKS 

Photographic Supplies of Every Description 

DEVELOPING 

c/lnd Printing for Amateurs 

Catalog on Application 

HIRSCH & KAISER 

7 Kearny Street San Francisco 


JULIUS STARKE 

THE. ARTIST 

In all the fine Woods of California 


Yosemite Valley 
Big Tree Groves 
and Surroundings 


Yosemite 

California 




Mail a Copy of the 


YOSEMITE TOURIST 

£> he Valley Paper, to Your Friends 


It contains much that is interesting as 
well as the hotel and camp arrivals 

D. J. FOLEY, Editor and Publisher 

EUGENE FOLEY, Assistant Editor 

Published in office, rear of Tourist Studio 

Only 10 cents per copy, put up for mailing 


FISKE’S 

Beautiful Fine Art Views 

OF THE YOSEMITE 


ARE FOR SALE AT THE 

FISKE STUDIO, Sierra Club Building 

Mr. Fiske is the pioneer photographer of the Yosemite, 
having spent twenty years here, including many winters. 
Many of his snow and winter views are gems of the art 
photographic. 


You are invited to call and view this collection 



THE COMFORTABLE WylY 



TO THE 


YOSEMITE VALLEY 

AND THE 

BIG TREE GROVES 


IS OVER THE 

:DOUBLE LOOT 



This line offers the great advantage of going into the 
Valley over one road and out over another. The trip is de¬ 
scribed elsewhere in this book. The stage rate is $ 20.00 lor 
the round trip from Merced. For full information regarding 
rates from any other point, and for beautifully-illustrated 
folder ask any Santa Fe agent, or address 

YOSEMITE TRANSPORTATION CO 

641 MarKet Street, San Francisco, Cal. 

D. K. Stoddard, Pres, Eugene R. Hallett, Gen. Pass. Agt. 











ART GEMS OF PHOTOGRAPHY 


SEA GREEN and 
SEPIA CARRONS 



Jit the 

TOURIST STUDIO , Yosemite, Cal. 


We are noiv ready to supply you with- these most 
beautiful and absolutely permanent pictures at rates 
but little higher than that charged for the black 
and white photos , such as velox , albumen , bromide , etc. 

THC 

BEAUTIFUL VICTUALS IN 

Special Portrait and 
Special Plough Velox— 

ALMOST PLATINUM EFFECTS 
TH* 

KODAKS SIND CAMERAS TO KENT 

PLATES SIND FILMS 

DEVFLQPING SIND PRINTING at Reasonable Kates 






To see is to want these beautiful little 

Sea Green and Engraving Black Carbon 

BROMIDE AND VELOX PHOTOS 



These little views are arranged in sets of four or more. 
They are gems of the art photographic. 

AT THE 

“Tourist” Studio, Yosemite, Cal, 



Y\ 27413 


LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 


^rnmssm li II l ll I in 

0 017 168 337 3 

Wm 


Santa Fe 




m 


The Ideal Way 
To Yosemite 
is over the 
Santa Fe-Merced 
Route 




Folder on application 
641 Market Street 
SAN FRANCISCO 







































